ACLU, Planned Parenthood Sue Alabama Over Abortion Ban | HuffPost Latest News

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alabamas strict new abortion law.

The law forbids the procedure in all cases, including rape and incest, except where it is necessary to save the pregnant persons life.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the extreme measure into law earlier this month. It is seen as a clear attack on Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion across the country.

Both the ACLU and Planned Parenthood previously pledged to fight the law, which threatens doctors who perform abortions with a felony charge and up to 99 years in prison.

Alabamas ban is just one of several new abortion measures passed by lawmakers in Republican-controlled states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Utah, with each one in various stages of approval. More restrictive abortion legislation is pending in other states, as well.

Some of the measures, known as heartbeat bills, prohibit the termination of a pregnancy when a nascent heartbeat can be detected, which usually happens around six weeks. Some health care professionals, however, say using the term heartbeat at that point is technically inaccurate since the heart is still in its early formation stages.

More restrictive abortion legislation has cropped up since Brett Kavanaugh joined the Supreme Court and tipped the scales toward conservatives on the bench.

#BREAKING: This morning, the ACLU of Alabama, @ACLU, and @PPFA filed our lawsuit challenging Alabama's abortion ban.

We said we would and we did.

Read more: https://t.co/V3rcGJNM2R #stopthebans #withAlabama #alpolitics #mybodymychoice pic.twitter.com/GxVEmPS6F2

ACLU of Alabama (@ACLUAlabama) May 24, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"ACLU of Alabama","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ACLUAlabama","cache_age":86400,"description":"#BREAKING: This morning, the ACLU of Alabama, @ACLU, and @PPFA filed our lawsuit challenging Alabama's abortion ban. We said we would and we did. Read more: https://t.co/V3rcGJNM2R #stopthebans #withAlabama #alpolitics #mybodymychoice pic.twitter.com/GxVEmPS6F2 ACLU of Alabama (@ACLUAlabama) May 24, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1080,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7VguGRW4AA0ifK.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1080,"title":"ACLU of Alabama on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/ACLUAlabama/status/1131917651037630464","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5ce7f408e4b0cce67c899ab8","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/planned-parenthood-abortion-ban-alabama-aclu-sue_n_5ce7f408e4b0cce67c899ab8","entryTagsList":"abortion,planned-parenthood,alabama,american-civil-liberties-union,roe-v-wade,@developing","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/4b4f09ba-609e-4df6-b338-4681166037aa/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5ce7f408e4b0cce67c899ab8","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Abortion","slug":"abortion","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/abortion","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/abortion","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/abortion"},"section":{"title":"Women","slug":"women"},"topic":{"title":"Abortion","slug":"abortion","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/abortion"},{"name":"Planned Parenthood","slug":"planned-parenthood","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/planned-parenthood","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/planned-parenthood","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/planned-parenthood"},"relegenceId":3628188,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Planned Parenthood","slug":"planned-parenthood","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/planned-parenthood"},{"name":"Alabama","slug":"alabama","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/alabama","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/alabama","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/alabama"},"relegenceId":3446797,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Alabama","slug":"alabama","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/alabama"},{"name":" american civil liberties union","slug":"american-civil-liberties-union","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/american-civil-liberties-union","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/american-civil-liberties-union","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/american-civil-liberties-union"},"relegenceId":3447026,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"ACLU","slug":"aclu","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/aclu"},{"name":"roe v wade","slug":"roe-v-wade","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/roe-v-wade","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/roe-v-wade","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/roe-v-wade"},"relegenceId":3460383,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Roe v. Wade","slug":"roe-v-wade","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/roe-v-wade"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

#BREAKING : This morning, the ACLU of Alabama, @ACLU , and @PPFA filed our lawsuit challenging Alabama's abortion ban.

We said we would and we did.

Read more: https://t.co/V3rcGJNM2R #stopthebans #withAlabama #alpolitics #mybodymychoice pic.twitter.com/GxVEmPS6F2
ACLU of Alabama (@ACLUAlabama) May 24, 2019

A recent HuffPost/YouGov poll found the Alabama law to be deeply unpopular with Americans, with just 31% saying they approve of it. Other polls have also shown that most Americans disapprove of the law . Even President Donald Trump recently said he backs exceptions for rape and incest, although he urged Republicans to stick together on the issue of abortion.

The rightward shift in abortion policy has sparked protests around the country. On Sunday, Alabamas major newspapers published essays from more than 200 women on the topic, given that a majority of men in the state legislature spoke for them the previous week.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

What were seeing in Alabama is a manmade public health emergency and were fighting back, Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. To patients seeking safe, legal abortion care in Alabama: this extreme ban hasnt gone into effect yet and we will make sure of it.

Make no mistake: Abortion remains and will remain safe and legal in Alabama. With this lawsuit, we are seeking a court order to make sure this law never takes effect, said Randall Marshall, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama. We hope our states elected leaders take note and stop using taxpayer dollars on a legal gamble that they know is unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The Alabama law is scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 15, 2019.