Alabama Seeks to Enforce Dismemberment Abortion Ban

Alabama is seeking to enforce a state law against a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure.

The state has appealed a federal judge’s ruling that blocked enforcement of the state’s 2016 law banning abortion through dilation and evacuation, in which the contents of the uterus are removed with forceps.

In a brief filed last week with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, state lawyers wrote that what they called “dismemberment” abortion is “particularly brutal.”

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled that ban would cause Alabama women to lose access to abortion in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Randall Marshall, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said Friday that he was confident Thompson’s decision will be upheld. He calls it a well-reasoned opinion.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)