Tossing of Alabama abortion ban upheld
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s decision striking down an Alabama law that sought to ban the most commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta affirmed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson that the 2016 ban on the procedure known as dilation and evacuation is an unconstitutional restriction because it would cause women to lose access to abortion in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy because of the unavailability of other methods.
The ruling is the latest blow to efforts in some states to ban the second-trimester abortion procedure in which the fetus is removed in pieces with forceps. Courts have blocked similar laws in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the Alabama law, said it is the first time an appellate court has ruled on the constitutionality of a dilation-and-evacuation ban.
“The upshot of this ruling is that women’s health, not politics, will guide important medical decisions about pregnancy. Laws like this are part of a larger strategy by anti-abortion politicians to push abortion out of reach entirely,” said Andrew Beck, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was disappointed in the outcome and his office is considering whether to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.