Rick Rojas and Alan Blinder

In ruling against the Alabama law — the most far-reaching anti-abortion measure passed by state lawmakers this year — Judge Myron H. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama wrote that it violates Supreme Court precedent and “defies” the Constitution.

Alabama was among several states to approve restrictive laws designed to provoke a renewed legal battle over abortion rights, with the aim to reach the U.S. Supreme Court and topple Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion up to the point when a fetus is viable outside the womb, usually about 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

Federal judges in six other states have blocked laws that would ban abortions after what becomes the fetus’ heartbeat can be detected from going into effect, and judges in two other states have temporarily blocked laws that would ban abortions after 18 weeks. Alabama’s law would have gone into effect Nov. 15.

Tuesday’s ruling was anticipated. When she signed the bill into law in May, Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, conceded that the legislation was likely “unenforceable.” Still, she said it would prompt courts to “revisit this important matter.”

Opponents of the law hailed Tuesday’s ruling as a positive development as the case pushed ahead. They also said it came as a relief to the women who believed that the procedure had already been outlawed in their state.

“Abortion remains legal in Alabama,” Randall Marshall, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said in a statement following the ruling. “The state’s repeated attempts to push abortion out of reach by enacting unconstitutional laws restricting abortions have already cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 million. This ill-advised law will cost taxpayers more money.”

The legal challenge to Alabama’s law was mounted by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood on behalf of Dr. Yashica Robinson, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Huntsville, Alabama, who provides abortions.

In a statement on Tuesday, Robinson said the care she and her staff provide was “essential health care.”

“These ruthless attacks from anti-abortion politicians have no place in Alabama,” she said.

Supporters of the law denounced the decision.

“This is judicial activism, pure and simple,” said State Sen. Clyde Chambliss, a Republican lawmaker who was a sponsor of the legislation.

Still, supporters recognized that the injunction was a necessary part of the larger legal confrontation that they believe could serve as a lever for overturning Roe v. Wade.

“As we have stated before, the state’s objective is to advance our case to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Steve Marshall, the state’s attorney general, said in a statement. There, he said, the state would submit evidence that the landmark abortion cases of Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were “wrongly decided and that the Constitution does not prohibit states from protecting unborn children from abortion.”

Alabama’s law, called the Human Life Protection Act and drafted by leaders of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, calls for a sweeping ban, including in cases of rape and incest, and threatens doctors who perform the procedure with felony charges and up to 99 years in prison. The law includes an exception for instances where a mother’s health is at serious risk.

“This legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Ivey, a Republican, said as she signed the law, which had stirred debate even among fellow Republicans.

The tide of anti-abortion legislation across the country came on the heels of last year’s Supreme Court appointment of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a move that buoyed conservatives.

Legislatures in Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia were among the states that passed laws banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected, measures that could effectively prohibit abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, when many women do not yet know they are pregnant. Lawmakers in Utah and Arkansas approved 18-week bans.

The laws were all blocked by preliminary injunctions issued by federal judges. Louisiana also passed a so-called heartbeat bill, but it contained a stipulation that it would not be enforceable until a federal appellate court rules on Mississippi’s similar law.

Legal scholars said that anti-abortion lawmakers and activists had in the past largely stuck to methodically chipping away at abortion rights, such as laws passed in Louisiana and Texas that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The Supreme Court struck down the Texas law in 2016, but it agreed this month to hear a challenge to the Louisiana law, making it the first abortion case to reach the court since the addition of President Donald Trump’s appointments of Kavanaugh and Neil M. Gorsuch.

Legal scholars said the Louisiana case stood to reshape the constitutional principles governing abortion rights. But it also reflected a rising clash over tactics.

Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University and author of the forthcoming book “Abortion and the Law,” described the long prevailing approach to which some states still subscribe: “It would be better to have a death of a thousand cuts rather than go for the home run.”

Still, she noted the recent wave of more ambitious legislation, like the Alabama law, that may or may not rise to the Supreme Court.

“Other states clearly think it’s worth the risk,” she said.

This article originally appeared in

Alabama Abortion Ban Is Temporarily Blocked by a Federal Judge

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a near-total ban on abortions from taking effect next month in Alabama, ensuring the procedure remains legal and available in the state while the case winds its way through the courts.

Tuesday’s ruling was anticipated. When she signed the bill into law in May, Alabama’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, conceded that the legislation was likely “unenforceable.” Still, she said it would prompt courts to “revisit this important matter.”

Opponents of the law hailed Tuesday’s ruling as a positive development as the case pushed ahead.

“Abortion remains legal in Alabama,” Randall Marshall, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said following the ruling. “The state’s repeated attempts to push abortion out of reach by enacting unconstitutional laws restricting abortions have already cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 million. This ill-advised law will cost taxpayers more money.”

“As we have stated before, the state’s objective is to advance our case to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Steve Marshall, the state’s attorney general, said. There, he said, the state would submit evidence that the landmark abortion cases of Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were “wrongly decided and that the Constitution does not prohibit states from protecting unborn children from abortion.”

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Rick Rojas and Alan Blinder

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Alabama Abortion Ban Is Temporarily Blocked by a Federal Judge

Alabama Abortion Ban Is Temporarily Blocked by a Federal Judge