Federal judge rules Alabama can’t prosecute groups facilitating out-of-state abortions

A federal judge on Monday ruled Alabama cannot prosecute groups that help women receive out-of-state abortions.

The case stems from the state’s Attorney General Steve Marshall threatening to charge organizations and health care providers who assist women in traveling out of state for abortions after the state passed restrictions on the act. Carter-appointed Judge Myron H. Thompson said such actions would violate the First Amendment and right to travel, according to court documents.

“It is DECLARED that the defendant’s use of the provisions of Alabama’s criminal code to prosecute those who assist individuals seeking to leave Alabama to obtain abortion care in a State where abortion is legal would violate both the First Amendment and the right to travel,” the decision reads.

Alabama voters in 2018 passed a ballot measure banning nearly all abortions.

The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by the Yellowhammer Fund, an organization seeking specifically to financially assist women who plan to travel to abort their children.

The decision comes as President Donald Trump announced recently he was pulling tens of millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood over its alleged failure to comply with civil rights laws and federal directives relating to bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Abortion numbers in the U.S. have been rising nationwide since the fall of Roe v. Wade, due largely to the growing accessibility of the abortion pill. Over 1,000,000 abortions were performed in 2023.

Red and blue state laws surrounding abortion have come into conflict as new policies continue to be adopted, especially in relation to residents of states with abortion restrictions being provided telehealth abortion services from doctors in pro-abortion states. A Louisiana grand jury, for instance, in January indicted a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a minor in the southern state, which led to serious complications for the patient. New York quickly responded by passing a law allowing abortion providers to have their names removed from abortion pill prescription labels, making it more difficult to prosecute the providers or trace the prescription to any specific doctor.

Marshall and the Yellowhammer Fund did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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