A federal judge on Monday allowed a lawsuit challenging Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's threat to prosecute those who promote abortion in states where abortion is legal to proceed, in the process forcing the attorney general's office to proceed. denounced legal arguments.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Montgomery, the Yellowhammer Fund, the Women's Center of West Alabama and other abortion rights groups say they want to help their clients get abortions in states where it is legal, but Marshall's threats They claim that they have not been able to implement it because of this. Constitutional Rights.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson sided with Marshall on one of the attorney general's arguments, but ruled on several others, including that it could violate constitutional rights to travel and freedom of expression. Marshall's motion to dismiss the case on these grounds was denied.
“This case simply addresses how a state can prevent people within its borders from going to other states, and from helping others go to other states to do lawful things there. “The question is, is there not?” Thompson wrote. “Just as California can restrict people from coming to Alabama to do things that are legal here, Alabama can also restrict people from going to California and engaging in things that are legal there. In this sense, this case is not a particularly difficult decision.
Thompson's ruling said the Marshall Department's interpretation of the right to travel violates “common sense.”
“The Attorney General's position that the right to travel is simply the right to physically move between states is contrary to history, precedent, and common sense,” he said.
“Indeed, the attorney general's right-to-travel theory that states can force residents to defy their own laws when traveling is 'substantial.'[s] It's the right to see the physical environment of the state of your choice,'' Thompson continued. “Such a restricted concept of the right to travel erodes the privileges of citizens and is unconstitutional.”
Marshall's office could not be reached for comment.
