Tag Archives: Alabama

The Birmingham News reports: A new Alabama law banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programming and training in public colleges and other state agencies will go into effect this fall. Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129, known as the “divisive concepts” bill, into law Wednesday. The law will become effective Oct. 1, 2024. The law lists eight so-called “divisive concepts,” with …

The New York Times reports: Alabama Republicans pushed through a sprawling measure on Tuesday that would not only ban state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities, local boards of education and government agencies, but also limit the teaching of “divisive concepts” surrounding race, gender and identity. The bill passed with broad support in the State Legislature, …

The Alabama Political Reporter reports: State Rep. Mack Butler, Gadsden, said he has only heard secondhand rumors about the recent uproar over a transgender Space Camp counselor at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. But he’s heard enough that he plans to expand HB130, a bill prohibiting the instruction or discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, …

The New York Post reports: A well-known GOP politico in Alabama has been charged with the “sexual torture” and murder of a man he knew. Kyle Hayden Lewter, 36, allegedly killed Derek Franklin Walls, 54, of Harvest, Alabama, last week during a “physical altercation,” according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have released few details about the case, but …

The Birmingham News reports: Alabama lawmakers gave final passage Wednesday night to a bill intended to give legal protection to in vitro fertilization clinics after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling caused some to pause services. Gov. Kay Ivey announced shortly after that she had signed the bill into law. Lawmakers have scrambled to provide immunity that would allow clinics to …

Roll Call reports: Rep. Barry Moore defeated fellow GOP Rep. Jerry Carl [photo] in the primary in Alabama’s 1st District Tuesday, bringing to a close a contentious member-vs.-member election. A Republican in his second term, Moore campaigned as a loyal supporter of Trump, touting his votes against supplemental funding for Ukraine and his support for a border wall. Moore and …

The Birmingham News reports: The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill intended to provide legal protections to in vitro fertilization clinics, a move that supporters acknowledged was not a permanent solution to questions about the legal status of embryos created through IVF. The bill passed by a vote of 94-6. It moved to the Senate, which passed a …

The Birmingham News reports: Alabama soon could legally define what makes someone a man or a woman. “We feel that it needs to be defined because not everyone has the same version of the meaning anymore,” said Rep. Susan DuBose, who sponsored HB111. Bills in both the state House and Senate seek to define the terms “male,” “female,” “boy”, and …

The Huffington Post reports: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall revealed Monday that an explosive device was detonated outside his office building over the weekend. It was not clear from the statement if the device exploded on its own or was blown up by law enforcement. No one was hurt, and officials are carrying out an investigation. The explosive was set …

The Guardian reports: A second Alabama provider announced that it will pause its in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments on Thursday, just days after the state supreme court ruled in a first-of-its-kind decision that embryos are “extrauterine children”. “We have made the impossibly difficult decision to hold new IVF treatments due to the legal risk to our clinic and our embryologists,” Alabama …

Politico reports: If Republicans didn’t realize it when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they sure understand now: The long tail of the Dobbs ruling just keeps whipping Republicans with thorny political consequences. The GOP’s latest nightmare scenario comes from Alabama, where the state’s high court found on Friday that the destruction of embryos constituted a crime under the …

“Well, first of all, I didn’t say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling. What the question that I was asked is, do I believe an embryo is a baby? I do think that if you look in the definition, an embryo is considered an unborn baby. And so, yes, I believe from my stance that that is. “The difference …

The Associated Press reports: Alabama is seeking to put a second inmate to death using nitrogen gas, a move that comes a month after the state carried out the first execution using the controversial new method. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office asked the Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday to set an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller. The state …

NBC News reports: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday that frozen embryos created through in-vitro fertilization are “babies,” siding with a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that raised concerns among doctors and patients about the future of the procedure. “Embryos, to me, are babies,” Haley told NBC News in an interview, adding that she used artificial insemination to have …

The Hill reports: The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing all in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments for fear of lawsuits and criminal prosecution following a recent ruling from the state supreme court. A spokesperson said the health system is evaluating the first-of-its-kind decision that declared frozen embryos are entitled to the same protections as humans, and those …

Media Matters reports: During a recent interview on the program of self-proclaimed “prophet” and QAnon conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker indicated that he is a proponent of the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” a theological approach that calls on Christians to impose fundamentalist values on all aspects of American life. Enlow is a pro-Trump “prophet” and …

The Huffington Post reports: The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are children, which pro-choice rights groups have warned could have dangerous implications for fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday reversed Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Jill Parrish Phillips’ decision to dismiss a lawsuit in which a couple sued an Alabama …

The Birmingham News reports: Alabama Death Row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith on Thursday night became the first prisoner to die using a new untested method of execution in the United States—suffocation by nitrogen gas. The 58-year-old was executed at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. In announcing the execution had been carried out, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey stated: “I …

NBC News reports: An Alabama Republican congressman said on Wednesday that “everyone has some racist in them,” pushing back on GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s assertion that the United States has never been a racist country. Rep. Jerry Carl made the remarks during a GOP primary debate against fellow Rep. Barry Moore. The two congressmen are squaring off against each …

Courthouse News reports: The Supreme Court refused to pause an experimental execution in Alabama on Wednesday, allowing the state to move forward with the U.S.’s first oxygen deprivation execution. Kenneth Eugene Smith asked the Supreme Court to block Alabama’s second shot at carrying out his death sentence. In 2022, Alabama spent nearly two hours poking and prodding Smith while he …