Abortion opponents and supporters spar over prosecuting women
“The proliferation of unsupervised chemical abortions sparks discussion of legal penalties for mothers who abort their children
The second Wednesday in January, Bradley Pierce received a text from a friend linking to an article with the headline, “Alabama Women Can Be Prosecuted For Taking Abortion Pills, AG Says.”
The piece cited an article from AL.com that quotes Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. In a statement, Marshall said a state pro-life law protecting babies from abortion starting at conception exempts women who undergo surgical abortions from liability. But then he added, “It does not provide an across-the-board exemption from all criminal laws, including the chemical-endangerment law—which the Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed protects unborn children.”
An earlier article from 1819 News ran the same quote, fueling speculation that the state attorney general was prepared to prosecute women for drug-induced abortions just as the Biden administration made moves to expand the drug’s availability.
But Pierce, who is the president of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, wasn’t convinced.
“I immediately knew that’s not the case,” he said. “I was kind of waiting for the shoe to drop and for him to issue a clarification.”
The next day, Marshall clarified to other news outlets that women cannot be prosecuted for taking abortion pills, citing a state law that exempts the mother from prosecution in abortion cases. He said pregnant mothers can only be prosecuted under the chemical endangerment law if they use other illegal drugs that harm the unborn child.”