Campaign Action
On Friday, May 24, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama challenging the constitutionality of the ban on abortions that passed in the Alabama legislature and was signed into law by the state’s Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on May 15. The unconstitutional ban, which includes no exceptions in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, is due to take effect in the state on November 15 of this year.
The plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit are Dr. Yashica Robinson, an Alabama doctor who provides reproductive healthcare services in private practice and at Huntsville’s Alabama Women’s Center; Alabama Women’s Center; Reproductive Health Services of Montgomery; West Alabama Women’s Center of Tuscaloosa; and Planned Parenthood Southeast. The healthcare centers listed as plaintiffs are the only three clinics still providing abortions in the entire state of Alabama.
Dr. Robinson, a longtime advocate for women and their right to bodily autonomy and choice in their healthcare decisions, said, “Our patients at Alabama Women’s Center already have to overcome so much just to get to our doors, and this law further shames them, punishes providers like myself, and stigmatizes essential health care. Alabama has a long track record of passing laws designed to close clinics and push abortion care out of reach, and just like we have before, we will fight for our patients and do all we can to stay open and continue serving our community.”