Alabama governor signs bill that may close state’s few remaining abortion clinics

The Supreme Court held in Roe v. Wade that abortion is a constitutional right protected under the right to privacy, determining that states must show compelling reason to place any restrictions on that right. An exception the court set out is for licensing doctors in order to safeguard public health, which states explicitly can do, according to the National Women’s Law Center. This new law in Alabama appears designed specifically to run aground Roe v. Wade in order to test how far states can go in restrictions ostensibly designed to protect public health.