Parties in Alabama abortion aid lawsuit aim to resolve case without trial

A shot of cards on a table at West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. A federal judge Tuesday allowed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall from prosecuting assistance for out-of-state abortion care to proceed. (Vasha Hunt for Alabama Reflector)

The parties on the opposite sides of a lawsuit aimed at stopping Alabama from potentially prosecuting those who help Alabamians seek out-of-state abortion care want a federal judge to rule on the case without a trial.

Plaintiffs Yellowhammer Fund; Alabama Women’s Center and West Alabama Women’s Center and the Alabama attorney general’s office said in briefs filed June 17 that both want to skip a trial.

The plaintiffs say the lawsuit can be resolved based on the constitutional violations claimed, while Marshall’s office wants a summary judgment because they feel their argument demonstrates that the legal issues are clear and the plaintiffs lack standing.

During a radio interview in August 2022, Marshall said health care providers could face felony charges for assisting Alabamians in traveling to other states to obtain legal abortion care. Health care providers and advocates filed a lawsuit last year , arguing that the laws cited by Marshall violated several constitutional rights, including the right to travel.

“The right to travel is ‘so elementary’ that it inherently accompanies the Union that the Constitution established. How else could a loose confederation of states be transformed into one nation?” the Yellowhammer Fund stated in its motion.

The Alabama attorney general’s office argued that the Alabama statutes do not violate constitutional rights and that the court lacks jurisdiction over certain claims brought by the plaintiffs.

“This Court lacks jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims on behalf of their staff and clients because Plaintiffs cannot satisfy the third-party standing requirements,” Marshall’s filing states, saying that providers and advocates do not have standing to sue on behalf of patients.

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Yellowhammer’s motion also argues that the Attorney General’s threats to prosecute those helping out-of-state abortions violate the First Amendment.

“Defendant’s threats to prosecute abortion helpers for speaking about lawful, out-of-state activities violate the First Amendment because he seeks to chill and restrict speech based on its content and viewpoint,” the filing argues.

The Alabama attorney general’s office argues that the Alabama statutes do not criminalize traveling out of state for an abortion but punish plans made in Alabama.

“For a state law to have extraterritorial application, it must apply to events occurring and injuries suffered primarily outside the state’s borders,” the filing reads.

The office also argues that the  First Amendment does not protect activities that violate state law.

“Alabama law does not tell plaintiffs with whom they may exercise their First Amendment rights. Rather, it instructs Plaintiffs that, while they are associating with others of their choice, they may not engage in certain forms of unprotected activity,” the filing stated.

Both parties have until July 15 to file opposition to those motions, and July 22 to file responses in support of them.

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