Abortion in Alabama is illegal.[1] Historically, Alabama's abortion laws have evolved from strict regulations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a period of liberalization following the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. However, Alabama has consistently enacted legislation aimed at restricting access to abortion.
In May 2019 Alabama passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws, the Human Life Protection Act. This law sought to ban most abortions at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, only allowing abortions if there was a serious health risk to the mother.[2] The law was granted an injunction until June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, allowing the Act to go into effect.[3] The remaining three abortion clinics in the state were ordered to cease operating.[4]
Abortion regulations in Alabama also include mandatory waiting periods, parental consent requirements for minors, and stringent guidelines for abortion clinics that many advocates argue are designed to limit the availability of abortion services in the state. In 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children. The Constitution of Alabama contains an explicit ban on abortion funding.[5]
Abortion remains a divisive issue in Alabama, with a 2014 survey by Pew Research Center concluding that 58% of surveyed adults in the state believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, and 37% indicating it should be legal. A strong correlation was observed between the opposition to abortion and conservative political views.[6] The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 54% of Alabamans said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[7]