MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A federal judge on Sunday ruled that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state’s response to coronavirus.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued a preliminary injunction sought by clinics to prevent the state from forbidding abortions as part of a ban on elective medical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thompson said abortion providers can decide whether a procedure can wait. “Based on the current record, the defendants’ efforts to combat COVID-19 do not outweigh the lasting harm imposed by the denial of an individual’s right to terminate her pregnancy, by an undue burden or increase in risk on patients imposed by a delayed procedure, or by the cloud of unwarranted prosecution against providers,”