West Alabama Women's Center

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the United States saw its first jump in infant mortality in twenty years. Alabama is among nineteen states that a report for the CDC says saw its rate of infant death increase significantly

A federal judge in Arkansas ruled that Alabama and sixteen other states have no standing to challenge federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions.

A ruling by Alabama’s Supreme Court is prompting action in Congress. U.S. Senator Katie Britt is co-sponsoring a bill that would protect invitro fertilization clinics.

Democrats in both Alabama and Florida are looking to the possible political blowback from conservative actions like the Sunshine State’s new six week abortion that takes effect starting in May. There's also the ongoing headaches from an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children. Activists in both States think reproductive rights could be a rallying cry during the November election

A growing number of progressive politicians are choosing to tell their own abortion stories. The list includes newly elected Alabama State House member Marilyn Lands, who won a special election by focusing on reproductive rights.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Republicans insisted the ruling would mostly impact those seeking abortions to end unwanted pregnancies. But that hasn't been the case. Women who never intended to end their pregnancies have nearly died because they couldn't get emergency treatment. Miscarriage care has been delayed. Routine reproductive medical care has dried up in states with strict abortion bans. And fertility treatments were temporarily paused in Alabama. As the fallout grows, so apparently does the opportunity for Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump said he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, outlining his position in a video in which he declined to endorse a national ban after months of mixed messages and speculation. Here in Alabama, its abortion law makes performing the procedure a felony with up to ninety nine years in prison for the provider. There’s an exception when there is a serious health risk to the mother.

Alabama lawmakers, who face public pressure to get invitro fertilization services restarted, are nearing approval of immunity legislation to shield providers from the fall out of a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.

Groups representing Alabama doctors and hospitals urged the state Supreme Court on Friday to revisit a decision equating frozen embryos to children, saying the ruling is blocking fertility treatments and harming the medical community.

This Associated Press analysis focuses on Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are “children,” and how this and other legal decision are creating heightened focus on upcoming races for these judges nationally.