Alabama

Leaving Alabama’s IVF programs open to attack | BRIAN LYMAN

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2024

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Leaving Alabama’s IVF programs open to attack | BRIAN LYMAN

Brian Lyman
| ALABAMA REFLECTOR

A recent episode of Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History” podcast offered an appropriate metaphor for Alabama politics.

Carlin discussed Alexander the Great, the ancient Greeks and their methods of fighting. When those kingdoms and city states came to blows, they put on their armor, grabbed their shields and formed tight units called phalanxes. Each man in the phalanx — which could run dozens of rows deep — carried a tall spear in his right hand and a shield in his left.

Being reasonable people, the ancient Greeks wanted to minimize their risk of getting stabbed by long sticks. So when that possibility loomed, a soldier would raise his shield with his left hand, and huddle as much as he could behind the shield of the person on his right.

As a result, phalanxes tended to drift to the right during combat. That was the safest part of the battlefield.

These hoplites would feel at home in the Alabama Legislature. The politicians in our mostly Republican government fear that if they don’t appease the extremes, they’ll leave themselves open to attack.

So they drift to the right. Where they feel safe.

And this means they debate issues that aren’t a matter of debate.

Did Alabamians as a whole want to keep up statues of long-dead white supremacists?

Are programs that encourage people to get along dehumanizing?

Do medical professionals helping teenagers navigate gender dysphoria deserve prison time?

Should Alabama force the victim of a sexual assault to carry a resulting pregnancy to term?

Don’t second-guess yourself. Reasonable people had come to a consensus on these matters.

But in Alabama’s one-party system of government, unreasonable people drive the conversations.

This is how you get a government that makes it hard for Black communities to remove statues of slaveholders; that makes life hell for transgender youth, and that forces victims of rape and incest to repeatedly live out their traumas.

It doesn’t serve the people of the state. But our government wasn’t designed for the people here. It’s aimed at ensuring that the powerful stay that way.

With one party perpetually in charge, primaries are more important than general elections. Primaries draw the most extreme GOP partisans.

And so our leaders step to the right to ensure they survive those battles.

In general, this need to appease the extremes falls hardest on marginalized groups — like transgender people, who make up less than 1% of Alabama’s population. The state’s leaders have an ugly tradition of targeting people with limited ability to fight back. But in general, they’ve left popular ideas or services alone.

But now in vitro fertilization has the attention of extremists.

It’s another issue that wasn’t broadly controversial until February. Who would object to loving couples having children? Well, the Alabama Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Tom Parker, who wants to impose a reactionary version of Christianity on the state.

Justices ruled in February that a frozen embryo was a child. Destruction of frozen embryos could mean a parent could collect damages. Which made it very hard for IVF clinics in the state to operate.

Amid a national outcry, the Republican-controlled Legislature swiftly passed a law to protect IVF providers from criminal and civil liability.

But will they stick with it?

Republican leaders decided not to consider proposals from Democrats that would have addressed the heart of the Alabama Supreme Court’s finding on fetal personhood. The immunity bill was sold to lawmakers as a stopgap proposition that would allow legislators to explore the issue in depth, through a commission.

Of course, IVF wasn’t an issue until the state courts made it so. But now we’re seeing the outlines of a more sustained attack on the service.

Already, litigation in Mobile County is challenging the Legislature’s fix. The Southern Baptists, who count many Alabama lawmakers as congregants, now oppose helping infertile couples with this treatment.

Can we count on lawmakers to resist this new offensive?

The early signs aren’t good. Legislators keep punting on that IVF commission. If the Mobile County lawsuit gets to the Alabama Supreme Court, the law could be a goner. Parker all but invited challenges to legislative fixes in his concurrence to the court’s ruling in February.

And people already teetering over the right edge of public discourse now want restrictions on a procedure they showed little interest in before the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling. Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, even compared current IVF procedures in the state to the Holocaust.

I’d like to think that making it hard to have babies would be too much for our self-professed “pro-life” politicians. They could stiffen against this assault — if not for families pursuing IVF, then for keeping the support of suburban GOP voters.

But I also thought no one would ever force sexual assault victims to carry their attackers’ children. The Alabama Legislature did. And faced no consequences.

It doesn’t matter that IVF is popular. If extremists shout down support for the procedure, our leaders will start seeking protection.

They will take yet another step to the right. And as they do, they’ll leave infertile couples open to attack.

Brian Lyman is the editor of Alabama Reflector. He has covered Alabama politics since 2006, and worked at the Montgomery Advertiser, the Press-Register and The Anniston Star. His work has won awards from the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Alabama Press Association and Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights. He lives in Auburn with his wife, Julie, and their three children.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation.

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Alabama

Why Vanderbilt football’s Cole Adams transferred from Alabama, ready to prove himself

Published

4 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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Why Vanderbilt football’s Cole Adams transferred from Alabama, ready to prove himself

A Vanderbilt football goal post that was escorted down Broadway by an enthusiastic band of Commodores fans before being heaved into the Cumberland River on the night of Oct. 5, 2024 helped make graduate transfer receiver Cole Adams a believer that Nashville might be the place for him.

Adams, you see, was on that No. 1-ranked Alabama team. He had a front-row seat to what some consider the beginning of the rebirth of a program that had long been the laughingstock of the SEC.

Adams made two catches for 17 yards during that 40-35 loss. He also made it a point to pay attention to what was going on around him and the Diego Pavia-led Commodores.

“There were more Alabama fans in the stands than there were Vanderbilt,” Adams said March 24 after a spring practice. “And they whooped our butt. They whooped our butt.

“Not only was I in awe, but I was like, ‘Look at these guys.’ It was pretty cool from the opposite side of the field to see the relatedness and the brotherhood. … That was the first time I really looked at Vanderbilt, and I was like, ‘These guys have something good going on.’ “

How Tim Beck, Clark Lea helped bring Cole Adams to Vanderbilt football

Adams, who had 13 catches for 176 yards and one touchdown in 24 games spanning three seasons with the Crimson Tide, is expected to play a bigger role with his new team.

It’s a team that will have a new quarterback − freshman Jared Curtis seems most likely − with 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up Pavia gone chasing his NFL dreams.

A team that will have a bigger target on its back.

A team Adams joined thanks in large part to offensive coordinator Tim Beck, who recruited Adams when he played for Owasso High School in Oklahoma and Beck was coaching at TCU.

“We created a really close relationship really quickly,” said the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Adams, who also was Alabama’s primary punt returner. “Even back then, I felt like we related to each other a lot. He talked to my parents a ton, and they loved him as well.”

Clark Lea also made quite the impression on Adams during his official visit.

“When he came on campus and met with us, I was blown away with his engagement, his personality and just had the feeling that he was a fit for us,” Lea said. “He’s brought confidence. He’s brought that snap experience.

“He’s also a misfit. He’s a chip-on-the-shoulder guy, which I appreciate. It fits with our environment.”

Vanderbilt football replacing leadership with Diego Pavia’s departure

Which is a void the Commodores must fill in the absence of Pavia, whose leadership skills were lauded by many to be as, if not more, impressive as his abilities on the field.

Pavia quickly became a vocal leader. Wore a C on his chest. Led both vocally and by example.

Adams still considers himself the new kid on the block, but his pedigree and his past, not to mention his new coach, suggest that also will be part of his role.

Even if doesn’t fully feel prepared for that just yet.

“First I have to show on the field that I’m capable, showing the guys I can do the right things at all times before you’re vocal,” Adams said. “There’s a time and place to be a leader. You need to gain trust and respect before you can … help them out.

“I still feel young, but I guess I’m kind of an old head now. I guess you could say I’ve been through it. I’ve had some peers I looked up to and learned from. So now I’m just implementing that in my game.”

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.

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Alabama

Pregnant mother, 29, fatally shot by stalker in Alabama murder-suicide

Published

16 hours ago

March 24, 2026

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Pregnant mother, 29, fatally shot by stalker in Alabama murder-suicide

An Alabama mother who was set to give birth to her second child was gunned down by a cowardly stalker — who later turned the gun on himself while being hunted by authorities.

Shelby Amidon, 29, was fatally shot by Ricky O’Neil Beck Jr., at her home in the city of Warrior early Thursday morning, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

Amidon, who was married and pregnant with her second child, identified Beck as her stalker when she phoned 911 after being shot, AL.com reported. The creep had apparently been stalking the victim for some time, according to reports.

It’s unclear how the pair knew one another.

Beck, 43, took off from Amidon’s home in his Chevrolet Z71 with a silver toolbox, according to an alert issued by local police.

Senior ALEA Trooper Brandon Bailey said he saw Beck pull out a gun while ramming a responding Blount County sheriff deputy’s patrol vehicle, the outlet reported.

The deputy opened fire, but Beck was able to get away — sparking a manhunt.

Beck’s body was found in a wooded area later that same day, where he appeared to have shot himself, Bailey told the outlet.

The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation is still investigating.

Amidon was married to Nick Amidon, a data analyst at a local bank. The two share one young son, according to a GoFundMe organized by Nick’s mother.

“Shelby was a beautiful soul who brought love, warmth, and light to those around her. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” she wrote.

“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain.”

The GoFundMe was close to clearing the $12,000 mark as of Tuesday evening.

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Alabama

Can Alabama carry the banner for the SEC to the Final Four?

Published

1 day ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Can Alabama carry the banner for the SEC to the Final Four?

OK, now it’s time to get real.

The first 2 rounds of the NCAA Tournament are annually chock-full of buzzer-beaters and 1-game wonders and upsets and choke-jobs. And boy did we get them all in the 2026 version of March Madness.

But now it’s time to get real.

That first weekend served as a very real reminder of the 1-and-done finality of the NCAA Tournament – where a barely-in squad like Texas stands tall after 3 games in 5 days while a supposed dynasty like Florida didn’t even escape the second round.

Without the mighty Gators, the question at hand is this: Does Alabama have what it takes to represent the SEC all the way to the Final Four?

After 2 games, at least, it would appear the answer is trending toward “yes.” Sure, pulling away from Hofstra in the first round in the Midwest Regional in Tampa looked better scanning the final stats than it did at the 35-minute mark with the Pride trailing by just 5. But the second-round squashing of Texas Tech sent a smidge of shockwave around the country for the ease in which the Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet 16.

Why? Because after Aden Holloway disappeared into a cloud of his own (alleged) smoke, many would have pegged Alabama as a second-round departure fighting TSA lines on the way back to Tuscaloosa.

Instead, Nate Oats’ squad got better between Friday and Sunday – which isn’t great news for No. 1-seed Michigan. It’s as if it took the Tide those 35 minutes against Hofstra to figure out how to play as an elite team without Holloway and then proceeded to use that knowledge to bludgeon the Red Raiders with 19 3-pointers and a cakewalk victory.

Surviving the Wolverines won’t be a cakewalk. No. 1 seeds aren’t supposed to be easy outs. The 3 non-Florida No. 1s won their second-round games by an average of 26.7 points – with Michigan swarming past ninth-seeded Saint Louis 95-72.

But Alabama could well be uniquely suited to be the team to hand Michigan just its fourth loss of the season when the 2 teams meet Friday in Chicago’s United Center (7:35 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV). For starters, the Crimson Tide test a scoreboard operator even more than the Wolverines – leading the nation at 91.6 points per game (the Wolverines aren’t shabby either at 87.4 ppg) and ranking among the top 10 nationally in efficiency at 1.188 points per possession.

Alabama currently has an 18% chance to beat Michigan in the Sweet 16, per Kalshi:

Alabama has also uniquely turned Holloway’s absence into a positive, in that it has been a showcase for the Tide’s absurd bench depth – especially in the low post where Michigan feasts. Cycling in 7-footer Noah Williamson, Amari Allen, Taylor Bol Bowen and even London Jemison keeps the machine running at near-Mach speed.

And while Labaron Philon Jr. was perhaps the lone ineffective Alabama player against Texas Tech (9 points but with 12 assists), he also can single-handedly take over games – proof of concept coming via both his 29-point effort against Hofstra in the first round and his 35-point barrage against Arkansas on Feb. 18.

There is also a matter of being there before. The Tide are just 2 years removed from their first-ever Final Four appearance, and while only Latrell Wrightsell was on that 2023-24 Tide team that lost to UConn in the national semifinals, the current roster was built on the back of that unit. Michigan, on the other hand, hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2018.

Of course, Michigan isn’t the only team Alabama will have to worry about in the Windy City. The second-seeded Iowa State Cyclones and the sixth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers tussle in the other Midwest semifinal – but the Tide nipped Tennessee in Knoxville just last month and Iowa State simply hasn’t seen the kind of track meet the Tide can produce.

For Alabama to carry the SEC banner to the Final Four, though, taking down the big, bad Wolverines will be the key. That Michigan disdains shot-clock violations almost as much as Alabama actually plays into the Tide’s hands, so the resulting 40-minute sprint is bound to give a double-digit underdog a chance.

Is it a puncher’s chance? Sure. Is it the kind of odds that keep the lights in Vegas twinkling 24/7? Maybe. But survive Michigan, and Alabama could well be the best chance for SEC to represent in the Final Four now that the road to Indianapolis is almost complete.

Here are the latest Final Four odds, via Kalshi:

An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.

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