Alabama asks Supreme Court to review abortion ruling

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state’s attempt to ban the most commonly used procedure in second-trimester abortions.

State lawmakers voted in 2016 to ban the abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. A federal judge blocked the law as an unconstitutional restriction on abortion access.

Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office asked the high court Thursday to review an August ruling by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in upholding that decision.

Courts have blocked similar laws in Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.

Court records show 93 percent of abortions in Alabama occur before 15 weeks of pregnancy. For the 7 percent of abortions that occur later, 99 percent are by dilation and evacuation.

A statement from Marshall’s office calls the procedure “dismemberment abortion.”