ACLU of Alabama response to Amendment 1
The passage of Amendment 1 comes as no surprise even though from a legal standpoint, it is meaningless. The government is still prohibited from displaying the Ten Commandments if it would violate the U.S. Constitution. What is likely, however, is that its passage will encourage public bodies to erect constitutionally questionable religious displays featuring the Ten Commandments and give officials false comfort that they will be safe from costly litigation as a result. They will not be.
Although Amendment 1 promises that no public funds will be used to defend the constitutionality of the Amendment itself, local public bodies, such as school districts, will be forced to hire lawyers to defend lawsuits challenging specific Ten Commandments displays. And, should the plaintiffs prevail, the local public body and its taxpayers will be on the hook for the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees, which could run easily into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The amendment is a trap for the unwary.
ACLU of Alabama response to Amendment 2
We are disappointed in the outcome of Amendment 2, which paves the way to outlaw abortion in the state of Alabama. Our worry is that this amendment will prove to be much more insidious than it seems at face value, touching on much more about healthcare than just abortion. We hope that Alabama legislators will commit to ensuring that any clarification on this amendment will take into account the importance of having access to safe, high quality reproductive care in our state.
To the enthusiastic volunteers who devoted countless hours to ensuring that people knew about the dangers of this amendment, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are proud to have been a part of Alabama for Healthy Families and we thank our partners for their leadership and efforts to raise awareness on the amendment. Regardless of what happens, we will always be here to stand with Alabama women, their families, and their private medical decisions. We will continue to fight any attack against reproductive freedom in our state.
