Justices won’t revive Alabama ban on abortion procedure

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court won’t revive Alabama’s ban on the most commonly used procedure in second-trimester abortions. The measure has been blocked by lower courts.
The justices on Friday rejected the state’s appeal in which it sought to enforce a law enacted in 2016 that bans the abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall calls the procedure “dismemberment abortion.”
Courts have blocked similar laws that sought to ban this procedure in Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.
Court records show that 93% of abortions in Alabama occur before 15 weeks of pregnancy. For the 7% of abortions that occur later, almost all are by the dilation and evacuation procedure.