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CV NEWS FEED // A federal judge is set to make a decision on whether Alabama residents can be prosecuted for helping a pregnant woman obtain an abortion.
The Hill reported that Alabama’s abortion ban is one of the strictest in the U.S., with no exceptions for rape or incest like many other states have. The pro-life law went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022, and Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall said shortly afterwards that he would consider prosecuting anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion under the state’s criminal conspiracy law.
According to the Hill, pro-abortion groups were forced to stop providing funds or consultations on how to obtain out-of-state abortions due to fears of prosecution. They later sued Marshall, claiming that his interpretation of Alabama laws infringes on their First Amendment free expression rights. They also argued that prosecution would violate their right to travel.
The attorneys for the pro-abortion advocates have claimed that prosecution would be an “overreach” of power and argued that it isolates pregnant women.
According to the Hill, Marshall has maintained in the court filings that “a conspiracy formed in the State to have that same act performed outside the State is illegal.” He has also claimed that the pro-abortion advocates do not have standing to sue, as they only have an “arms-length relationship” with the pregnant women affected by the law.
Marshall asked U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, who will decide the case, to dismiss the lawsuit in May. However, Thompson let the case stand, giving pro-abortion advocates hope that it might be decided in their favor.
“Alabama can no more restrict people from going to, say, California to engage in what is lawful there than California can restrict people from coming to Alabama to do what is lawful here,” Thompson had written when he let the case stand, according to the Hill.
An official date for the final ruling has not yet been declared.
