Alabama Attorney General Says Explosive Device Detonated Outside Office

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that an explosive device was detonated outside the attorney general's office in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday, just days after the state Supreme Court's controversial ruling regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF).

According to a statement from Marshall on Monday, no staff or personnel were injured in the explosion that went off early Saturday morning. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is leading an investigation into the blast.

The Context

A spokesperson with Marshall's office told Newsweek that no further information regarding the explosive device was available at this time. The contact also "cautioned" from jumping to any conclusions regarding a potential motive behind the incident.

It is unclear if the explosion had any relation to the Alabama Supreme Court's IVF ruling on February 16, which determined frozen embryos are living children under the law, making the discarding of unviable or unwanted embryos intended for IVF treatments unlawful. The controversial decision is among several examples of questions surrounding reproductive health care since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022.

What We Know

ALEA said in a statement shared with Newsweek Monday night that special agents were notified about a "suspicious package" near Marshall's office at around 8:19 a.m. Saturday. Responding officials determined it was an explosive device that was detonated" earlier that morning.

The agency added that "no injuries or damage to nearby buildings have been reported." An investigation remains ongoing.

The Views

Marshall's office told Newsweek last week that the state prosecutor has "no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers."

Medical providers are concerned, however, that IVF patients or doctors could still face criminal charges or punitive damages related to the procedure. Democrats in the Alabama House also introduced a bill last week that would protect IVF availability in the state. The proposed legislation says that any fertilized human egg or human embryo outside of a uterus "is not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law." Republican State Senator Tim Melson, chair of Alabama Senate's Healthcare Committee, told the Alabama Reflector that he intends to introduce a similar bill.

Politicians on both side of the aisle have condemned the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling regarding IVF treatment. Former President Donald Trump, front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, urged the Alabama state legislature to "find an immediate solution" to protect access to the procedure in a statement shared to social media last week.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ripped the state Supreme Court ruling while appearing on CNN Friday, claiming "that the Republican Party has said that rapists have more rights to bring those babies to birth than families that are trying desperately" to become parents.

The judgment regarding IVF was a unanimous decision by the nine Republican justices on the Alabama Supreme Court. The panel wrote in its conclusion that "unborn children are children," and that the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to "all children, born and unborn, without limitation."

What's Next?

The administration of President Joe Biden is sending its top health official, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, to meet with Alabama patients and doctors on Tuesday regarding the IVF ruling, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Biden previously called the Alabama Supreme Court's decision "outrageous and unacceptable," and said last week that he and Vice President Kamala Harris are "fighting for the freedom of women, for families and for doctors who care for these women."

Update 02/26/23, 8:31 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.