Court blocks Alabama unborn protections

An Alabama law that protected nearly all unborn babies will not take effect next month. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Tuesday temporarily blocked the law, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution.

What did the law say? The 2019 Alabama Human Life Protection Act made it a felony to abort a baby at any stage of pregnancy, with exceptions if the health of the mother was at risk or the baby had a lethal anomaly. Abortionists could have faced up to 99 years or life in prison for performing the procedure. Pro-life advocates in the state hope the law will go to the Supreme Court as a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in Vitals about the pro-life case headed to the Supreme Court from Louisiana.