吃瓜直播, Planned Parenthood File Lawsuit Challenging Alabama Abortion Ban
Extreme Law Takes Direct Aim at the Right to Abortion Guaranteed by Roe v. Wade
MONTGOMERY, Ala. 鈥� The 吃瓜直播 (吃瓜直播), 吃瓜直播 of Alabama and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Alabama abortion providers challenging an extreme law that bans abortion in nearly every case and punishes doctors with up to 99 years in prison for providing care. Governor Kay Ivey signed the bill into law on May 15, making Alabama the fifth state this year to enact an outright abortion ban.
The lawsuit comes amid nationwide opposition to the extreme ban and follows a week of protests throughout the country opposing state abortion bans. Earlier this year, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, and Mississippi also enacted laws banning abortion, and the Missouri governor is expected to sign a ban soon. The 吃瓜直播 has already obtained an injunction blocking the Kentucky ban. The 吃瓜直播, together with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, have also filed suit against the ban in Ohio and are preparing a legal challenge in Georgia. No abortion ban, including Alabama鈥檚, is in effect and abortion remains legal in all 50 states.
鈥淭he Alabama legislature has been pushing abortion care further and further out of reach for years with medically unnecessary and politically-motivated restrictions, and this extreme abortion ban shows us just how far they鈥檒l go to push their anti-abortion agenda,鈥� said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, senior staff attorney at the 吃瓜直播 Reproductive Freedom Project. 鈥淭his law is blatantly unconstitutional, and the 吃瓜直播 will not stand by while politicians emboldened by President Trump鈥檚 anti-abortion agenda exploit our health and our lives for political gain.鈥�
鈥淢ake no mistake: Abortion remains 鈥� and will remain 鈥� safe and legal in Alabama. With this lawsuit, we are seeking a court order to make sure this law never takes effect,鈥� said Randall Marshall, executive director of the 吃瓜直播 of Alabama. 鈥淲e hope our state鈥檚 elected leaders take note and stop using taxpayer dollars on a legal gamble that they know is unconstitutional and unenforceable.鈥�
This near-total abortion ban is the latest in a long line of restrictions passed by anti-abortion politicians in Alabama that push care out of reach. The 吃瓜直播 and PPSE have successfully challenged multiple previous restrictions designed to shut down abortion clinics in the state. They have never lost a challenge to an abortion restriction in Alabama.
鈥淥ur patients at Alabama Women鈥檚 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,鈥� said Dr. Yashica Robinson, comprehensive women鈥檚 health specialist and owner of Alabama Women鈥檚 Center, who is a plaintiff in the case. 鈥淎labama 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.鈥�
These efforts are part of 吃瓜直播鈥檚 decades-long fight to protect the right to abortion for all. The 吃瓜直播 mobilized its over three million members to join partner organizations at nearly 500 events across the country, with tens of thousands of people in attendance, to protest the attack on abortion rights. The organization has also launched a national featuring Busy Philipps against the recent attacks on abortion rights.
鈥淎labama鈥檚 state motto is audemus jura nostra defendere, which means 鈥榳e dare defend our rights.鈥� That鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e doing here today,鈥� said Staci Fox, President and CEO at Planned Parenthood Southeast. 鈥淎bortion has been safe and legal in this country for more than 45 years and we aim to keep it that way. We are protecting the rights of our patients. We are defending the work of the brave folks who came before us. And we are fighting to take this country forward, not backwards.鈥�
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing in Alabama is a manmade public health emergency and we鈥檙e fighting back. To patients seeking safe, legal abortion care in Alabama: this extreme ban hasn鈥檛 gone into effect yet 鈥� and we will make sure of it,鈥� said Dr. Leana Wen, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 鈥淭his dangerous, immoral, and unconstitutional ban threatens people鈥檚 lives and well-being and we are suing to protect our patient鈥檚 rights. The facts are on our side, the public is on our side, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure women across Alabama can receive the health care they need today, tomorrow, and beyond.鈥�
In addition to Dr. Robinson, plaintiffs represented in the case are Alabama Women鈥檚 Center, Reproductive Health Services, West Alabama Women鈥檚 Center, and Planned Parenthood Southeast.
The complaint was filed in the United States District Court of the Middle District of Alabama.
Learn More 吃瓜直播 the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseJul 2025
Reproductive Freedom
Judge Issues Preliminary Injunctions Again Blocking Missouri鈥檚 Abortion Bans, Some Restrictions. Explore Press Release.Judge Issues Preliminary Injunctions Again Blocking Missouri鈥檚 Abortion Bans, Some Restrictions
Kansas City, Mo. 鈥� A Jackson County circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of Missouri鈥檚 abortion bans and several targeted regulations of abortion providers. The new preliminary injunction clears the way for Missouri鈥檚 Planned Parenthood members to again provide procedural abortion care. In May, the Missouri Supreme Court clarified the state鈥檚 legal standard for issuing a preliminary injunction, forcing the circuit court to temporarily vacate its original orders, and effectively implement a de facto abortion ban. 鈥淲hile the clarification on the standard is welcome, its immediate consequence temporarily pulled back implementation of Missourians鈥� constitutional right to access abortion care and providers鈥� right to offer that care,鈥� said Gillian Wilcox, Director of Litigation at the 吃瓜直播 of Missouri. 鈥淭his critical win begins to restore abortion access in our state, but Missourians must be vigilant and defeat the attacks on the constitutional rights that we secured at the ballot box last November.鈥� 鈥淎bortion is legal again in Missouri because voters demanded it and we fought for it,鈥� said Emily Wales, president and CEO, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. 鈥淐are starts again on Monday in Kansas City. We鈥檙e not stopping until every Missourian can get the care they need, close to home.鈥� 鈥淲e are grateful that procedural abortion can resume in the state of Missouri, just as voters demanded last November. However, the whiplash has created immense confusion for patients in Missouri,鈥� said Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. 鈥淭his decision is a step forward toward fully realizing Missourians' right to reproductive freedom, and the staff at our Central West End health center in St. Louis will work as quickly as possible to resume scheduling abortion appointments." The order did not address the pending request to enjoin other targeted restrictions that are preventing medication abortion access from being restored in Missouri. Previously, both Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri submitted complication plans to satisfy the existing requirements to allow them to offer medication abortions. The Department of Health and Senior Services failed to respond to either affiliates鈥� submissions or follow-up inquiries for several weeks. Instead, the department manufactured an 鈥渆mergency rule鈥� that resembled many of the court-blocked regulations and cited it as the reason for refusing the submitted plans. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri, who are represented by attorneys from the 吃瓜直播 of Missouri, the 吃瓜直播, Crowell & Moring, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The full case is currently slated for trial in January 2026. -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Disability Rights
+2 Issues
Aclu Statement On Final Passage Of Massive Budget Bill Cutting Medicaid To Fund Abusive Deportation Efforts. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Statement on Final Passage of Massive Budget Bill Cutting Medicaid to Fund Abusive Deportation Efforts
WASHINGTON 鈥� The U.S. House of Representatives today gave final approval to H.R. 1, a budget bill that guts Medicaid and will wreak havoc on our communities, sending it to President Trump鈥檚 desk for his signature. H.R. 1 is the biggest cut to Medicaid in history 鈥� slashing approximately $1 trillion, which will result in at least 12 million people being removed from the program. The bill also cuts off access to Planned Parenthood services for Medicaid enrollees and restricts higher education opportunities, all to fund a dramatic and permanent increase to an immigration detention and deportation apparatus that denies due process and violates human rights. Following the vote in the House, Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer with the 吃瓜直播, issued the following statement: 鈥淭his reckless monstrosity is the most harmful bill to pass Congress in a generation. Instead of strengthening Medicaid, they鈥檝e taken an axe to it. Instead of reining in ICE鈥檚 abuses, Congress is throwing the agency billions more to terrorize our communities. 鈥淲hen 12 million people are kicked off Medicaid, patients are no longer able to get lifesaving cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, disabled people lose access to essential care and autonomy, and ICE ramps up lawless raids in our communities, the American people will remember who caused this devastation to our health, rights, and dignity. We won鈥檛 let them forget.鈥� -
Press ReleaseJun 2025
Reproductive Freedom
Women's Rights
Aclu Responds To Supreme Court Greenlighting State Efforts To 鈥渄efund鈥� Planned Parenthood. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Responds to Supreme Court Greenlighting State Efforts to 鈥淒efund鈥� Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON 鈥� The Supreme Court ruled today that Medicaid patients do not have a right to sue to enforce their right to a qualified health care provider of choice under the Medicaid statute. The decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will facilitate some states鈥� politically motivated efforts to block low-income patients鈥� access to certain health care providers and may effectively defund Planned Parenthood and other disfavored providers by barring them from state Medicaid programs. 鈥淭he majority decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic contradicts Congress鈥檚 clear purpose to give Medicaid patients their choice of qualified health care providers and also wrongly curtails patients鈥� rights to vindicate their choice of provider through Section 1983,鈥� said Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director for the 吃瓜直播. 鈥淭he decision may have the effect of blocking patients鈥� access to birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment for patients in South Carolina and potentially will permit state officials to override patients鈥� choice of provider based on political whims.鈥� 鈥淭he impact of this decision on our reproductive freedom will be compounded if Congress follows through on federal efforts to 'defund' Planned Parenthood by prohibiting patients from choosing Planned Parenthood health centers for their care,鈥� said Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer of the 吃瓜直播. 鈥淒oing so would force the closure of hundreds of Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide, robbing people of their freedom to get reproductive health care from trusted providers in their communities and would result in shuttering 1 in 4 of the country鈥檚 abortion providers. "Make no mistake: our reproductive freedom is still under siege. The 吃瓜直播 remains committed to fighting for Planned Parenthood, abortion access, and the fundamental human right to control one鈥檚 own body using every tool we have. -
Press ReleaseJun 2025
Reproductive Freedom
Aclu Joins 100+ Abortion Storytellers On Capitol Hill In Advocating For Reproductive Freedom聽. Explore Press Release.吃瓜直播 Joins 100+ Abortion Storytellers on Capitol Hill in Advocating for Reproductive Freedom聽
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 吃瓜直播 joined more than 100 abortion storytellers on Capitol Hill today to demand that lawmakers defend the reproductive freedom of people across the country against escalating attacks in Congress and by the Trump administration. The education day, organized by Abortion Access Now (AAN) and Free & Just, brought the largest storyteller convening for abortion rights to the Hill since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago. Abortion patients, providers, and advocates held over 100 meetings with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, speaking directly to lawmakers about the human toll of abortion bans: delayed medical care, severe health complications, and even the loss of women鈥檚 lives. As part of the education day on the Hill, 吃瓜直播 Chief Political and Advocacy Officer Deirdre Schifeling, shared the following remarks at an event with lawmakers. 鈥淭hree years on from the Dobbs decision, reproductive freedom and our right to bodily autonomy are still under siege. The attacks are not coming in the most obvious or direct way, a national abortion ban passed by Congress, because they know the American people won鈥檛 stand for it. Instead, it鈥檚 a 鈥榙eath by many cuts鈥� strategy designed by anti-abortion politicians to eliminate access nationwide, even in states where care is protected. 鈥淩ight now, Congress is considering 鈥榙efunding鈥� Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid patients from using their insurance there, which would shutter 1 in 4 of the country鈥檚 abortion providers. The FDA is using junk science to justify making medication abortion harder for patients to get even where it is legal. And the Trump administration continues to make reckless decisions that create chaos and confusion for patients seeking emergency care and their health care providers across the country. 鈥淥ur communities need congressional leaders to hold the Trump administration accountable, and to act with the urgency that this moment requires to protect our reproductive freedom.鈥�