Judge rules Alabama cannot prosecute those who help with out-of-state abortions

State attorney general had said anti-conspiracy laws might be used to charge groups helping women travel for abortions

Alabama's attorney general cannot prosecute individuals and groups that help Alabama women travel to other states to obtain abortions, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

US district judge Myron Thompson sided with an abortion fund and medical providers who sued Alabama's attorney general, Steve Marshall, after he suggested they could face prosecution under anti-conspiracy laws. Thompson's ruling declared that such prosecutions would violate both the first amendment and a person's right to travel.