FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Responds to ACLU Effort to Keep
Alabama Abortion Clinics Open
Alabama Joins Multistate Amicus Briefs in Support of Texas and Ohio
in Similar Cases
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall addressed litigation filed against the State of Alabama by the ACLU to keep state abortion clinics open during the current state health emergency. He also announced that Alabama has joined an amicus brief in support of Texas, and another in support of Ohio, both of which face similar lawsuits filed by pro-abortion activists.
“Today, the State of Alabama is facing litigation because the State refused to grant abortion clinics a blanket exemption from the restrictions imposed by the State Health Order issued on March 27,” said Attorney General Marshall. “As I stated last Friday, Section 7 of the Order applies to all healthcare facilities and providers, without exception. The order does not offer a total exemption for any specific type of provider or clinic, but instead provides exemptions from mandatory postponement only for two distinct classes of procedures: (1) those necessary to treat an “emergency medical condition”; and (2) those necessary to avoid serious harm from an underlying condition or disease, or are necessary as part of a patient’s ongoing and active treatment.
“Put simply, no provider or clinic is excused from compliance with this order.
“Today, I have also joined amicus briefs to support the states of Texas and Ohio as they face legal challenges similar to the one being brought against Alabama. In Texas and Ohio, as in Alabama, abortion providers are demanding special treatment and believe that they are above the law when it comes to the emergency orders.
“At a time when all Americans are making significant sacrifices to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it is remarkable that one class of providers demands to be treated differently than all others. Abortion clinics want an exemption, yet they are by no means exempt from the known risks of spreading the virus in crowded waiting rooms, depleting scarce personal protective equipment that should be reserved for those treating the virus, and transferring
patients with complications to already overburdened hospitals.”
Attorney General Marshall continued, “Our expectation from all healthcare providers is compliance with the order, and it will be enforced uniformly against all violators.”
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