In a Monday, 8/28/23, court filing obtained by CNN, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) characterized the act of traveling out-of-state for abortion as amounting to a “criminal conspiracy.” The filing comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought against Marshall by healthcare providers in the state who say he violated their constitutional rights when he threatened criminal investigations for organizations that help pregnant people travel for abortion.
Attorneys for Marshall wrote that those who help facilitate abortion out-of-state—including helping people pay for the costs of lodging and transportation across state lines—are engaging in criminal activity. “The conspiracy is what is being punished, even if the final conduct never occurs,” Marshall’s filing states. “That conduct is Alabama-based and is within Alabama’s power to prohibit.”
From Doug Poprocki