
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Planned Parenthood Southeast, have filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that places onerous and medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers and would force most of the state’s clinics to stop providing abortions.
The law, which requires every physician who performs an abortion at a clinic to have staff privileges at a local hospital, is similar to a Mississippi law that was blocked by a federal district court earlier this year. Such requirements have been opposed by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Physicians at the Planned Parenthood clinics in Birmingham and Mobile; and Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery are unable to obtain hospital staff privileges due to factors such as the hospital's opposition to abortion or requirements that the physicians live within a certain radius of the hospital; or that the physicians admit between 12-48 patients a year. Since abortion is one of the safest medical procedures and less than 0.3 percent of abortion patients ever require hospitalization, it is impossible for physicians to meet the minimum requirement.
Status: On March 26, 2016, a federal judge permanently struck down this law for all clinics in the state.
Case Updates
Federal Judge Permanently Strikes Down Law
March 26, 2016A federal judge permanently struck down the law which would have singled out doctors who provide abortions and required them to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital. In this final ruling, the judge confirmed that the ruling applies to all women's health centers in the state.
Follow The Case
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Legal Documents
AL Final Order Planned Parenthood Southeast v. Strange
Planned Parenthood Southeast v. Bentley -- Temporary Restraining Order
Planned Parenthood Southeast v. Bentley -- Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction
Planned Parenthood Southeast v. Bentley -- Complaint