On Tuesday, Democrat Marilyn Lands won a special election for the Alabama state House of Representatives, considered a bellwether election on abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF) ahead of the November 2024 election.
Lands ran ads sharing her own abortion experience decades ago and made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign early on in deep red Alabama, defeating Republican Teddy Powell to take the state House seat. He won the vacant seat in Ward 10. The Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing his unofficial return.
“I’m so excited to be going to Montgomery. I think this is a huge step forward for Alabama. I think tonight is a win for women, for families, and for all of Alabama,” Lands told the cameras. I spoke to him. “I want to get up there and get rid of the bad ban that bans abortion without exception. I want to protect IVF and contraception, but at the same time I want to protect health care, mental health care, and health care in general. I want to be an advocate for. I really feel like we need someone.” There are people in Montgomery who understand mental health issues, and I’m one of them. ”
The suburban district, which includes parts of Huntsville and Madison, is considered one of the few purple swing seats in the Deep Red state. Former Republican state Rep. David Cole pleaded guilty last year to voter fraud after he was accused of renting a closet-sized space to fraudulently run in a district he didn’t live in. Jobs were taken away.
New York Republicans co-sponsor bill to protect IVF treatment
On March 20, 2024, Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands walked the streets of suburban Huntsville, Alabama, trying to persuade voters to support her. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Madison City Councilman Powell conceded the race and released a statement congratulating Lands on his victory.
A rare victory for Democrats in the Deep South state, where Republicans hold all statewide offices and hold a lopsided majority in the Alabama Legislature, comes after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during infertility treatment should not be used during infertility treatment. This came after the court ruled that the embryos should be considered to have the same status as frozen embryos that have been created. Targeting children under state law in wrongful death lawsuits.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill earlier this month protecting in vitro fertilization treatments after a February decision that caused some fertility clinics to suspend procedures.
The judgment was rendered in two forms: wrongful death case The frozen embryos, brought by three couples, were destroyed at a fertility clinic when a hospital patient entered the storage area, removed the embryos from a cryogenic freezer and dropped them on the ground.
Republican candidate Teddy Powell walks through the suburbs of Huntsville, Alabama, on March 20, 2024. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The decision prompted a flurry of warnings about the potential impact on freezing embryos and infertility treatments, which courts had previously considered property.
After the ruling, Republican lawmakers, including former President Trump, supported protecting access to IVF.
Alabama Governor signs bill making IVF law: ‘We’re proud to be a pro-life, pro-family state’
But Lands’ campaign also focused on the ban on most abortion procedures that Alabama introduced after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Maria Shriver is the mother of Kate Cox, whose abortion was denied by the Texas Supreme Court, and Latoria Beasley, whose IVF embryo transfer was halted following a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision. Union on March 7, 2024, in Washington, DC, as President Biden holds hands and looks on. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Chair Heather Williams called the victory “a political earthquake in Alabama.”
“This special election is a harbinger of things to come. Republicans across the country recognize that attacks on IVF will have consequences. “It’s about electing Democrats across the country who are choosing to fight for freedom,” Williams said.
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Lands, a certified counselor, ran for office in 2022 but lost to Cole by seven points. She plans to finish her term and run for governor’s office and other races on the ballot in 2026. Her opponent, Powell, a former Pentagon budget analyst, focused on issues such as the economy and infrastructure, while Lands focused on abortion and in vitro fertilization.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
