WHNT 19 News' Kristen Conner explains what the Supreme Court's ruling striking down two provisions of a Texas omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2) could mean for two antiabortion-rights measures in Alabama. The Supreme Court in the Texas case struck down HB 2's ambulatory surgical center building requirement and admitting privileges provision.
According to Conner, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama recently filed suit against two Alabama laws: SB 363 bans a medically proven method of abortion, while SB 205 prohibits abortion clinics from operating near "K-8" public schools. WHNT 19 reporter Clarissa McClain notes that, according to ACLU's filing, SB 205 affects two abortion clinics that provide over 50 percent of the abortion care offered in the state.
Conner says, "ACLU attorneys say the Texas ruling is a message to courts and politicians, one that could help with [the] case in Alabama." Noting that the zoning law "directly target[s] ... shutting down the clinic in Huntsville," Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, an ACLU Alabama attorney, explains, "The Supreme Court has made very clear that you cannot put women's health at risk when you pass laws just attempting to restrict abortion" (Conner, WHNT 19 News, 6/29).


