Monday marks the start of the first full week since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe Versus Wade decision legalizing abortion. A Montgomery federal judge also just removed an injunction to a 2019 Alabama law that makes abortions a felony. The West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa provided fifty percent of the procedures in the state. The clinic says one hundred patients have already been turned away. Robin Marty is the center’s director of operations. She says she expects Alabama lawmakers to revive a 2019 law that makes providing abortions a felony…
“This is a state that doesn’t care about reproductive health care,” she contends. “This is a state that doesn’t care about health care in general. This is state that, when provided money to help people recover from COVID, decided to build prisons with it.
The Alabama legislature approved the sale of bonds and the use of pandemic relief aid from the American Rescue Plan to fund the prison building project. Stephens Incorporated and The Frazer Lanier Company will reportedly handle the sale of seven hundred and twenty five million dollars in bonds to finance new prisons in Alabama. The choice of these two companies follows an earlier construction deal with Raymond James and Well Fargo that fell apart in 2021. Bloomberg reports tomorrow’s sale is considered unusually large for the two southern banks that Alabama chose. Robin Marty of West Alabama Women’s Center says using health dollars that way isn’t a good sign.
“That is not a state that is friendly to making sure people have care. And because of that, we don’t know how long we can stay open,” she said. “We will be looking for grants. We will be looking for partnership.”
Alabama Congressman Gary Palmer is praising the end of Roe as a way to "save countless unborn Americans." Stay tuned for the latest from NPR on the high court’s decision to end Roe versus Wade. Alabama Public Radio has been covering this issue extensively. You can find those stories at APR.org.