House Bill 118 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mark GidleyRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Abortion-inducing drugs; manufacture, distribution, and transport prohibited, exceptions provided, qui tam suit against certain persons who violate prohibition authorized and provided for, remedies provided

Summary

HB118 would bar abortion-inducing drugs in Alabama with limited exceptions and create private qui tam lawsuits against violators, with specific defenses and remedies, effective October 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

It prohibits manufacturing, distribution, mailing, transporting, prescribing, or otherwise providing abortion-inducing drugs in Alabama, unless the action is not for abortion or is for a medical emergency, removal of an ectopic pregnancy, or removal of a dead unborn child caused by miscarriage. It creates a private qui tam enforcement mechanism that allows individuals to sue violators, while the state or its subdivisions may not participate. It lists many groups that would not be sued under this act and sets procedures, defenses, and remedies for these suits, including injunctive relief and monetary penalties. It also uses clawback provisions to limit interference or enforcement actions from other states, and it becomes effective on October 1, 2026.

Who It Affects

• Potential violators (manufacturers, distributors, prescribers, transporters, delivery entities, and others) would be subject to private qui tam lawsuits if they violate or intend to violate the abortion-inducing drug prohibition, with remedies including injunctive relief and at least $100,000 per violation plus costs and attorney fees.
• Exempted or protected parties (such as women using abortion-inducing drugs, health care facilities and providers under certain conditions, hospitals, ISPs, delivery and transportation networks, out-of-state providers under specified rules, and certain pharmaceutical manufacturers who adopt a compliant policy) would not be targets of qui tam actions under this act.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits manufacture, distribution, mailing, transporting, delivering, prescribing, or providing abortion-inducing drugs in Alabama, with narrow exceptions for non-abortion purposes or medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancy removal, or removal of a miscarriage-related dead unborn child.
• Authorizes private qui tam actions to enforce the prohibition, with the state or its subdivisions barred from participating.
• Lists exemptions from qui tam liability, including women using the drugs, certain health care entities and providers, ISPs, cloud providers, delivery and ride-network entities, and out-of-state providers under specified conditions.
• Establishes procedures for qui tam actions (statute of limitations, deposition rules, protection of personal information) and affirmative defenses (e.g., unaware of conduct, had reasonable precautions).
• Requires courts to grant injunctive relief, award at least $100,000 per violation, and cover costs and reasonable attorney fees to the successful relator; allows clawback provisions to block interfering actions from other states.
• Authorizes civil actions to prevent interference with qui tam actions via clawback provisions and provides personal jurisdiction and enforcement rules, including cross-state judgment considerations.
• Effective date set for October 1, 2026.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 11, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Civil Procedure