fbpx
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Legal Notices
Lagniappe Mobile
  • News
    • Cover Story
    • Latest
    • Serial Stories
    • Bay Briefs
    • Community News
    • Open Documents
    • e-Edition
  • Baldwin
  • Commentary
    • Damn the Torpedoes
    • Hidden Agenda
    • Beltway Beat
    • The Real Deal
    • Weather Things
    • The Gadfly
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Cuisine
    • The Dish
    • Word of Mouth
    • Beer and Loathing
    • Cuisine Directory
  • Arts
    • Artifice
    • Art Gallery
    • The Reel World
    • Calendar
  • Music
    • Music Feature
    • Music Briefs
    • Music Listings
    • Submissions
  • Sports
    • The Score
    • The Starting Line-Up
    • From Behind The Mic
    • Upon Further Review
  • Style
    • Media Frenzy
    • Mobile Magnified
    • Horoscopes
    • Master Gardeners
    • Style Feature
  • Lagnia-POD

Select Page

Politicians, abortion rights advocates speak out on Supreme Court leak

Posted by Dale Liesch | May 11, 2022 | Bay Briefs | 0 |

The landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, which made access to abortion a constitutional right, is on the verge of being overturned by the current members of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a draft opinion leaked to the press last week. 

If justices don’t change their minds, the ruling, which is expected to be announced next month, could leave women in Alabama and several neighboring states with few options when it comes to unwanted pregnancies, even in the case of rape or incest. 

Alabama, specifically, has passed a law that will likely take effect once Roe v. Wade is overturned that would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion with few exceptions. Under the Human Life Protection Act, the only exceptions are for pregnancies that threaten a woman’s life, ectopic pregnancies and cases where a psychiatrist diagnoses a mother-to-be with “serious mental illness.” 

Lauren Frazier, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates, called the law a “near-total abortion ban” and said it would most dramatically impact Black and brown women in the state. 

“It will most greatly impact rural communities that are already economically disadvantaged,” she said. 

Like Alabama, neighboring states including Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana also have laws on the books ready to take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Florida does not have a so-called “trigger law,” but in an email, Frazier said her group believes legislators in the Sunshine State would work quickly to pass more intense restrictions on abortion. Louisiana has also further restricted abortion during this year’s legislative term. 

“This legislative session alone in both states you mentioned have further restricted abortion,” she wrote. “Florida enacted a 15-week ban, and Louisiana, which already has a trigger law, is in the process right now of advancing a total criminal abortion ban that would allow patients to be charged with homicide and could also criminalize IVF and some forms of emergency contraception.” 

Frazier wrote that neither Louisiana nor Florida could be considered “safe” options for patients looking to access abortion procedures if Roe is overturned. 

“Florida would certainly be more workable than Louisiana, but only up to 15 weeks, which, as we know, is less than halfway through a typical pregnancy and a full two months before the viability line established by Roe,” she wrote. 

Planned Parenthood doesn’t just provide abortion services, Frazier said; the organization also offers other “vital” services like family planning, birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing and other health care-related activities. 

With primary election season in full swing, several candidates for state office released statements on the leaked opinion. In an opinion column circulated to state media, Gov. Kay Ivey wrote she disagreed with Roe v. Wade when it was first decided in 1973. 

“We have made incredible advancements — in areas from medicine to the workplace — much of which has to do with women,” she wrote. “Since Roe, the viability marker has moved from 28 weeks to 22 weeks and we can only expect science will further advance that.”

In terms of the workplace changes since 1973, Ivey highlighted that it’s now “commonplace” to find mothers in the Supreme Court, as well as acting as CEOs. 

“During the pandemic, nurses and teachers, fields dominated by women, were on the frontlines for us,” she wrote. “In 2019, for the first time, women made up a majority of law students entering class at the University of Alabama School of Law. The list goes on.” 

Tim James, one of the Republicans challenging Ivey in a May 24 primary, called the original Roe decision “abortion on demand.” While he agrees with Ivey that overturning Roe would be a positive for the state, he said he would do more as governor to protect the unborn. 

“When abortion ends, it will be the brightest light in America that we have seen in our modern era,” he wrote. “State powers will rightfully be restored, and Alabama will have the opportunity to abolish abortion permanently. Sadly, Americans United for Life ranks Alabama only No. 11 in passing state legislation to protect the life of the unborn. As your governor, I will ensure that Alabama is No. 1 in protecting life.” 

U.S. Senate candidate and current GOP U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said in a statement he and his wife, Martha, have looked forward to Roe being overturned for years. 

“I hope and pray that states all over America will protect life,” he wrote. “In Congress, I will fight and vote against the radical left’s expected pro-abortion legislation that cruelly takes the life of unborn children. As Alabama’s next United States senator, I will similarly lead pro-life fights.” 

In a statement, Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said the organization is “overjoyed” that the Supreme Court seems prepared to overturn Roe, but is “troubled” by the leak of the decision. 

“Not only is it unprecedented, but it also compromises our judicial process and its protocols,” Wahl wrote of the leak. “This leak needs to be recognized for what it is, a type of judicial insurrection that undermines the rule of law and the founding principles of our nation. The justices of the Supreme Court must be allowed to deliberate all cases before them, without intimidation and coercion, in order to reach a conclusion based on the Constitution, not politics.”

This page is available to our subscribers. Join us right now to get the latest local news from local reporters for local readers.

The best deal is found by clicking here. Click here right now to find out more. Check it out.

Already a member of the Lagniappe family? Sign in by clicking here

Share:

Rate:

PreviousUMobile set for host role
NextMobile’s first Black councilwoman dies at 81

About The Author

Dale Liesch

Dale Liesch

Dale Liesch has been a reporter at Lagniappe since February 2014. He covers all aspects of the city of Mobile, including the mayor, City Council, the Mobile Housing Board of Commissioners, GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico and others. He studied journalism at The University of Alabama and graduated in 2007. He came to Lagniappe, after several years in the newspaper industry. He achieved the position of news editor at The Alexander City Outlook before moving to Virginia and then subsequently moving back a few years later. He has a number of Alabama and Virginia Press association awards to his name. He grew up in the wilderness of Baldwin County, among several different varieties of animals including: dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, a horse and an angry goat. He now lives in the Oakleigh neighborhood of Mobile with his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Joan. The family currently has no goats, angry or otherwise, but is ruled by the whims of two very energetic dogs.

Related Posts

Youth baseball turns political in County Commission race

Youth baseball turns political in County Commission race

February 3, 2016

Stimpson has appointed 56 employees for $5.4 million annually

Stimpson has appointed 56 employees for $5.4 million annually

March 23, 2022

Councilor concerned over Chateauguay sales

Councilor concerned over Chateauguay sales

August 21, 2019

Spire acquires Mobile Gas

Spire acquires Mobile Gas

September 27, 2017

Recommended Stories

‘Enough’ is enough for Erdman

By Stephen Centanni

And the Campie goes to …

By Ashley Trice

NIL could flip the script on college sports

By Rob Holbert

Troubled youth debut poetry collection

By Kevin Lee

Symphony finale focused on American film titan

By Kevin Lee

  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Jobs
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join the Sunday Brunch Newsletter

Search This Site

Browse the Archives

© Lagniappe Mobile 2022