Public law, not legal advice
Alabama bans abortion. Here is what that sentence actually means.
This is a summary of public law, not legal advice. Chat and the form can help you apply it to your situation. A lawyer is a different person.
The rule
Since June 2022, Alabama’s Human Life Protection Act has been in force. It is a crime for a person to intentionally perform or attempt an abortion, including by medicine. There is no exception for rape or incest. The woman on whom an abortion is performed is not made criminally liable by that Act.
The narrow medical exception
An attending physician licensed in Alabama may perform an abortion when it is necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the mother. Except in a medical emergency, a second Alabama physician must later confirm that determination in writing. “Serious health risk” is a defined legal term — not a synonym for being sad, broke, or overwhelmed.
What the statute does not call an abortion
Alabama’s definitions exclude ending an ectopic pregnancy and ending a pregnancy when the unborn child has a lethal anomaly. Those are physician determinations. They are not DIY categories.
A local pregnancy center is still legal help: testing, ultrasound, material support. See the directory.