Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Judge Blocks Alabama Law Banning Abortion Facilities From Operating Near Schools


By Heather Clark
Christian News


MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama who once ordered the removal of Roy Moore’s Ten Commandments monument has now also blocked a state law banning abortion facilities from operating near k-8 schools.

Judge Myron Thompson, appointed to the bench by then-President Jimmy Carter, opined that the law would close two abortion facilities that perform an estimated 70 percent of abortions in the state, and would therefore place an undue “burden” on mothers seeking to obtain an abortion since they would have to drive further.

“This burden would become particularly devastating for low-income women who represent half of all abortion recipients and a significant majority of women seeking abortions in Alabama,” he wrote.

Thompson said that it if women can’t have an abortionist end the lives of their children, they will resort to doing it themselves.

“Recently, Tuscaloosa’s medical director has treated multiple women who attempted to self-abort, such as a woman who consumed turpentine after consulting the Internet and learning about its use as a folk remedy,” he wrote. “So too can Alabama expect an increased level of self-abortions if the school-proximity law were to take effect.”

Thompson also contended that there was no evidence that the law, which was passed in part to keep children from being exposed to the issue of abortion, was necessary.

“The record contains absolutely no evidence of concerns expressed by the school’s students or their parents about the Huntsville clinic or the demonstrations near it,” he stated. “As to Highlands, the State’s two interests (minimizing disruption and supporting a parent’s right to control their children’s exposure to the subject of abortion) would not in any way be furthered by the closing or relocation of the Huntsville Clinic.



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