A lawsuit on behalf of unborn African American babies in Alabama calls on state leaders to recognize babies in the womb as persons and enforce a state constitutional amendment that affirms their right to life.
One News Now reports attorney Sam McLure recently filed the lawsuit with the support of 46 state lawmakers on behalf of Baby Q and all other unborn African American babies in the state. The case is Baby Q, et al. v. Gov. Kay Ivey, et al.
“We are simply asking fair-minded judges in Alabama to accurately declare that the plain language of the 10th Amendment allows, and the Alabama Constitution and laws require, African American unborn children to be protected in Alabama” said Angela Broyles, Alabama Republican Executive Committee, one of the groups supporting the lawsuit. “These babies and the voters of Alabama deserve their day in court and a fair hearing on this case.”
McLure said unborn black babies are disproportionately harmed by abortion. In Alabama, African Americans represent 27 percent of the population, but they comprise 60 percent of the aborted babies, he said.
“So, they’re three times more likely to lose their lives through abortion,” he said. “We’re asking the courts to order the governor and attorney general to do something about that by enforcing Alabama pro-life law.”
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The lawsuit points to an Alabama Constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018 that recognizes unborn babies’ right to life. Alabama also passed a law in 2019 to ban all abortions, but a court blocked the state from enforcing it.
“Our amendment incorporates the values of protecting life,” McLure said. “In 2019, the legislature passed the Human Life Protection Act, which is one of the most aggressive abolition of abortion bills in the country, [but] those bills have not saved one baby.”
The reason is that the law and state constitutional amendment are unenforceable because of Roe v. Wade.
But, according to the Adoption Law Firm, of which McLure is a founder, the U.S. Supreme Court did not rule on the rights of unborn babies in Roe v. Wade. Instead, it “made the profound and often overlooked statement in which it further refused to define those rights: ‘We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins.…the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.’”
Therefore, it argues, states may define unborn babies’ rights under the 10th Amendment, which empowers “states to act where the Supreme Court says the Constitution is silent.”
The lawsuit also asserts that the U.S. Supreme Court “intentionally sidestepped” the Ninth Amendment, which says the rights listed in the Constitution do not abridge others that belong to the people.
It asks the court to recognize that Baby Q and other unborn babies are persons who are disparately affected by abortion and urges the state to act to protect unborn life.
So far, McLure said the governor, attorney general and district attorneys have filed two motions: one to dismiss the lawsuit and a second to oppose the legislators’ intervention.
State Rep. Arnold Mooney, one of the Republican lawmakers supporting the lawsuit, said state leaders have a responsibility to protect unborn babies.
“As Legislators, it is our job to enforce this voter-sanctioned amendment. The failure to do has been costly and deadly,” Mooney said. “Since 2018, more than 15,000 unborn children have been aborted in Alabama.”
Amie Beth Shaver, an author and former Miss Alabama winner, also supports the lawsuit. She said abortion is one of the most horrific tragedies against African American women and children in history.
“The people of Alabama have expressed their will, both directly and through their elected officials. Now it falls upon the Alabama Courts to defend the sovereign will of Alabama using the powers reserved to the people and the states under the U.S. Constitution’s 9th and 10th Amendments,” she said.
