Lifestyle Health Alabama's Abortion Ban Blocked by a Federal Judge The near-total ban was deemed unconstitutional, setting up a potential showdown in the Supreme Court By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 29, 2019 02:35 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Julie Bennett/Getty A federal judge has blocked Alabama’s ban on abortions, which would have stopped abortion at all stages of pregnancy and criminalized doctors who performed the procedure. The ban, which Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey had signed into law in May, would have gone into effect on Nov. 15. The only exceptions would have been for cases where the mother’s life is at risk, and there would be no concessions for rape or incest. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued the temporary block on Tuesday, writing that the ban “violates the right of an individual to privacy” and “diminishes the capacity of women to act in society, and to make reproductive decisions.” Thompson also added that the ban “defies the United States Constitution,” namely the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment which was determined in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. Thompson’s decision sets up a possible showdown in the Supreme Court with the potential to overturn Roe v. Wade. 26 Celebrities Who Have Shared Their Abortion Stories to Help End the Stigma Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshal plainly stated that this block “was not unexpected” and works towards the goal of reaching the Supreme Court. “As we have stated before, the States objective is to advance our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we intend to submit evidence that supports our argument that Roe and Casey were wrongly decided and that the Constitution does not prohibit states from protecting unborn children from abortion,” he said in a statement, NBC News reported. RELATED VIDEO: ‘I Pray for All … Who Will Suffer’: Many Stars Are Outraged at Sweeping Alabama Abortion Ban The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Alabama and Planned Parenthood Federation of America had jointly sued over the abortion ban. The ACLU celebrated the block in a tweet. “Abortion remains legal in Alabama,” Randall Marshall, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said in a statement, The New York Times reported. “The state’s repeated attempts to push abortion out of reach by enacting unconstitutional laws restricting abortions have already cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 million. This ill-advised law will cost taxpayers more money.” Here’s What You Should Know About the New Wave of Anti-Abortion Laws Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Utah had also attempted to enact bans on abortions after six weeks, but all have been blocked. Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood issued a statement: “Today’s victory means people can still access the health care they need across Alabama — for now,” she said. “We will continue to fight to ensure that everyone can access health care — including safe, legal abortion.”