Despite Alabama's tough pro-life laws, state Attorney General Steve Marshall cannot pursue charges against organizations or individuals who help women travel outside the state to kill their unborn children.
(LifeSiteNews) — A federal judge ruled Monday that the state could not prosecute those who assist women in crossing state lines to abort their unborn child after an abortion funder sued the state’s attorney general.
In a March 31 decision, U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson ruled that Attorney General Steve Marshall could not pursue charges against any individuals who help women travel outside the state to kill their unborn children. The lawsuit, brought by nonprofit abortion funder Yellowhammer Fund and the abortionist Alabama Women’s Health Center in 2023, was filed in response to Marshall’s remarks that he would look into prosecuting those who refer women to abortuaries in other states or otherwise aid women in having out-of-state abortions.
Alabama’s near-total abortion ban, one of the strongest in the nation, criminalizes abortion at all stages of pregnancy and only allows exceptions to “avert (a mother’s) death or to avert serious risk of substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function.”
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While the AG has never attempted to prosecute these organizations or any individuals for aiding women in aborting their unborn children outside Alabama, he argued before the court that the state had the right to prosecute.
In his ruling, Judge Thompson emphasized that pursuing charges against these organizations would violate “both the First Amendment and a person’s right to travel, according to AL.com.
“It is one thing for Alabama to outlaw by statute what happens in its own backyard. It is another thing for the state to enforce its values and laws, as chosen by the attorney general, outside its boundaries by punishing its citizens and others who help individuals travel to another state to engage in conduct that is lawful there but the attorney general finds to be contrary to Alabama’s values and laws,” the judge wrote in his opinion.
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40 Days for Life responded to the ruling in an X post by stressing the need to protect all unborn children and offer real help for mothers considering abortion.
“A judge may block prosecution, but no ruling changes the truth: abortion ends a life. We should offer real support for mothers, not just a quick referral to an out-of-state abortion. Every child deserves protection, and every mother real help,” the post read.
A spokesperson for the AG’s office said they are reviewing the court’s decision and will weigh their options, per AL.com.
