MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Abortions swiftly came to a stop in Alabama as a 2019 state abortion ban took effect making it a felony to perform an abortion at any state of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest victims.
All three clinics in the state stopped providing services Friday morning after a federal judge granted the state’s request to lift an injunction and allow the state to enforce the ban, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The only exception to the state’s abortion ban is for the sake of the mother’s health.
Gov. Kay Ivey praised the Supreme Court decision.
“I could not be more proud as a governor, a Christian and a woman to see this misguided and detrimental decision overturned,” Ivey said. “Alabama will continue standing up for our unborn babies, our mothers and our families.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the decision Friday afternoon, explaining that 2019 Human Life Protection Act is now in effect.
“The State of Alabama’s emergency motion to lift the injunction and reinstate Alabama’s 2019 law, which prohibits abortions in most instances, has been granted,” Marshall said. “Both the federal district court and the plaintiffs recognized that there is no basis for a continued stay of the duly-enacted law in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Thus, Alabama’s law making elective abortions a felony is now enforceable. Anyone who takes an unborn life in violation of the law will be prosecuted, with penalties ranging from 10 to 99 years for abortion providers.”