Alabama Attorney General explains near-total abortion ban

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Abortion is officially illegal in our state. The Alabama Human Life Protection Act which passed back in 2019 is now law.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled on the matter on June 24 to lift injunctions.

With the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, power was handed back to each state and within hours, abortion was banned in Alabama.

“The decision of the Alabama legislature as was signed by the governor in 2019 to allow this to be the law in Alabama now is in fact is the law in our state,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall.

With the Alabama Human Protection Act now law, he said it is a Class A Felony to perform an abortion and a Class C Felony to attempt one.

The one and only exemption included in the act to allow an abortion is if there is a serious medical emergency. Rape and incest are not included.

“Clearly, there is no stated right to an abortion in the constitution,” said Marshall. “It was a manufactured right that clearly did not have sufficient legal support.”

While any healthcare professional who performs an abortion can face legal repercussions, Marshall says the woman who gets the procedure cannot be charged.

He also adds any procedure attempted or completed in another state cannot result in charges within Alabama.

Marshall also says the new law does not apply to contraceptives or birth control.

“One of the things that we’re doing now is reviewing the Human Protection Act as well as the Supreme Court’s decision today to determine the question of the Plan B pill itself and whether or not it in fact would likewise relate to the application of that statute,” he added.

The Attorney General says he hopes the state will come to a decision quickly about the Plan B Emergency Contraceptive, but at this point whether or not the day-after pill will be legal in the state is still in question.

You can read the act in full here.

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