Protecting the right to help Alabamians access legal abortion care

Yellowhammer Fund v. Attorney General of Alabama

(Case No. 2:23-cv-00450)

This civil rights lawsuit successfully blocked the Alabama Attorney General from carrying out threats to criminally prosecute people who help pregnant Alabamians leave the state to access legal abortion care. In a decisive victory, a federal district court issued a declaratory judgment holding that Alabama cannot prosecute “abortion helpers” for assisting people in obtaining lawful care in other states.

The Attorney General’s threats specifically targeted helpers like the Yellowhammer Fund, an organization dedicated to providing funding and practical support to pregnant Alabamians forced to travel—often hundreds of miles—to receive safe and legal abortion care. Abortion funds like Yellowhammer do more than provide financial aid; they send a message of solidarity to people persecuted for exercising control over their reproductive lives.

Although Alabama has no legal authority to criminalize conduct that occurs entirely in other states, the Attorney General’s threats had devastating effects: they forced Yellowhammer Fund to suspend its abortion fund for nearly three years out of fear of prosecution. On March 31, 2025, following the Court’s order in its favor, Yellowhammer Fund was finally able to resume its critical work supporting pregnant Alabamians.

Helpers like the Yellowhammer Fund are part of a long tradition of people and organizations who make the exercise of civil rights possible. Freedom Riders, the publishers of The Green Book, and countless others stood up for the right to travel, assemble, and seek equal treatment under the law. Today, abortion helpers carry forward that legacy in the fight for reproductive justice.

The stakes for Alabamians could not be higher. Abortion is banned in Alabama. The state has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the country and is the sixth poorest. Even before the Dobbs decision, nearly 2,000 Alabamians traveled out of state each year for abortion care. These burdens fall disproportionately on Black people and other communities of color, who already face heightened risks of both medical harm and criminalization.

The federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of Yellowhammer Fund, holding that the Attorney General’s threats violated the Fund’s constitutional rights to free speech and expressive conduct, as well as its clients’ constitutional right to interstate travel. In a related case, the court also protected reproductive health care providers from prosecution for making out-of-state referrals, recognizing that such prosecutions would infringe both providers’ speech rights and their clients’ travel rights.

The Alabama Attorney General did not appeal. The judgment is final, and the case is closed—ensuring that helpers like the Yellowhammer Fund can once again stand with pregnant Alabamians without fear of criminal prosecution.

Plaintiffs:

Yellowhammer Fund

Defendants:

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall

Co-counsel:

Southern Poverty Law Center

Timeline and Key Documents:

March 31, 2025

Federal District Court Grants Plaintiff Yellowhammer Fund’s Request for Summary Judgement

July 22, 2024

Plaintiff Yellowhammer Fund Files Reply in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgement

July 22, 2024