The abortion ban in Alabama has been blocked for now by District Judge Myron Thompson, a President Jimmy Carter appointee.
Thompson issued an injunction on Oct. 29, preventing the state from enforcing the ban.
“The court is persuaded that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the Act violates an individuals constitutional right to obtain a pre-viability abortion, and thus that it violates her constitutional rights,” Thompson said in his order.
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until the court fully resolves the case.
The American Civil Liberties Union celebrated the ruling, writing in a statement: “With this federal court ruling, its official: None of the state abortion bans passed earlier this year are in effect. Abortion remains legal in all 50 states.”
The ruling was made after Planned Parenthood and other parties filed a lawsuit in May alleging the abortion law violated the U.S. Constitution, including the 1973 Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, that said abortion is a constitutional right.
“By criminalizing the performance of an abortion (or attempted performance of an abortion) at all points in pregnancy, H.B. 314 directly conflicts with Roe and more than four decades of Supreme Court precedent affirming its central holding,” the parties wrote (pdf).
Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill being challenged by the lawsuit on May 14, one day after the state Senate passed the legislation.
The bill outlawed all abortions except in cases when the pregnancy puts the prospective mothers life at risk.
While it doesnt penalize a woman for getting an abortion, it makes it a felony to perform abortions, imposing penalties of 10 to 99 years in prison.
The Alabama law took aim at the core issue of whether an unborn child can be considered a person, as discussed in Roe v. Read More – Source
