Alabama Attorney General doubles down on threats to prosecute out-of-state abortion care
The Alabama Attorney General Office Wednesday asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to stop the AG from prosecuting those who aid Alabamians seeking to access abortion care in states where it is legal.
In the motion to dismiss, state attorneys doubled down on statements Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall made in an August 2022 radio interview, in which he said that health care providers could face felony charges for assisting Alabamians in traveling to other states to obtain legal abortion care.
“An elective abortion performed in Alabama would be a criminal offense; thus, a conspiracy formed in the State to have that same act performed outside the State is illegal,” the brief said. “Plaintiffs identify no constitutional provision that would bar the State from enforcing that law,” the Attorney General wrote in the motion.”
The lawsuit, filed on July 31 by former abortion providers in the state, cited Marshall’s comments and alleged that the potential prosecution of people helping Alabamians access abortion care in states where it is legal had forced health care providers to cease providing critical information, counseling and practical support to Alabamians exercising their constitutional right to access medical care across state lines.
Messages seeking comment were left Thursday with the attorney general’s office.
Meagan Burrows, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said Thursday morning that the motion only affirmed Marshall’s prior comments.
https://alabamareflector.com/2023/08/31/alabama-attorney-general-doubles-down-on-threats-to-prosecute-out-of-state-abortion-care/
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