Lawsuit filed against Alabama's near-total abortion ban

The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Friday morning to challenge Alabama’s near-total abortion ban, which was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey last week. The law has not yet gone into effect.

The legislation — House Bill 314, the “Human Life Protection Act” — bans all abortions in the state except when “abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk” to the woman, according to the bill’s text. It criminalizes the procedure, reclassifying abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors who perform an abortion. 

The legislation makes no exceptions for victims or rape or incest. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.