Alabama AG Says He May Prosecute Women for Taking Abortion Pills

Alabama’s attorney general this week left open the possibility that his office may prosecute women for taking abortion pills—just days after the federal government eased access and made it easier for them to obtain those very same pills. The announcement follows passage of Alabama’s Human Life Protection Act, which is designed to criminalize abortion providers and stop prosecutors from charging those seeking to terminate their pregnancies. Despite these measures, Alabama AG Steve Marshall suggested in a statement to AL.com that he may use an older law—one designed to protect children from the ill effects of meth labs—to prosecute those seeking abortion pills. “The Human Life Protection Act targets abortion providers, exempting women ‘upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to be performed’ from liability under the law,” Marshall told the outlet. “It does not provide an across-the-board exemption from all criminal laws, including the chemical-endangerment law—which the Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed protects unborn children.” Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended its regulations for two medications commonly prescribed for abortions—allowing retail and mail-order pharmacies to dispense both mifepristone and misoprostol, which are used in the majority of U.S. medication abortions.