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Alabama
The Alabama supreme court justices behind IVF ruling
On February 16, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the same legal rights as children in a move that immediately led the state’s largest hospital to pause in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.
The judgment by nine Republican justices was unanimous in then concluding that “unborn children are children.” This means that the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to “all children, born and unborn, without limitation.” It is standard practice in IVF treatment for multiple embryos to be fertilized, with just one returned to the women’s womb and the others discarded.
As a result, clinics across Alabama put IVF treatments on hold; Gabrielle Goidel, who was just days away from retrieving her embryos after spending $20,000 in the hope of a child, told CNN that she had never “been this stressed in her life.”
A number of Republicans hit out at the ruling, including Donald Trump, by some margin the favorite for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He offered strong support for IVF treatment in a post on his Truth Social website.
Newsweek has created a brief summary of the nine Alabama Supreme Court justices who made the controversial ruling.
Chief Justice Tom Parker
Tom Parker was elected as an associate justice to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2004 and became chief justice in 2018.
The Montgomery native studied at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, before becoming a doctor of law at Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville, Tennessee.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Parker served as Alabama’s deputy administrative director of courts and also operated as a legal adviser to the chief justice.
Associate Justice Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw joined the Alabama Supreme Court in 2009 and was reelected in 2014, then again in 2020.
Born in Birmingham, Shaw studied at Auburn University, followed by Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, after which he was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1982.
Shaw is married to Dr. Nicole Shaw, and the couple have two sons. They are both members of the Auburn United Methodist Church.
Associate Justice A. Kelli Wise
Alisa Kelli Wise was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2010 after which she was reelected in 2016 and 2022. Previously, she served as presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals and was the youngest women ever to serve on the court when first elected.
Raised on her family’s farm as a fifth-generation Alabamian, Wise received an undergraduate degree from Auburn University, then became a doctor of law at Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.
Wise and her husband, Arthur Ray, a former Montgomery County District Court Judge, are both members of St. James United Methodist Church.
Alabama Judicial System
Associate Justice Tommy Bryan
Tommy Bryan was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012 and sworn in the following day. In 2018, he was reelected to the court without opposition.
Raised on a family farm in Crenshaw County, Bryan was educated at Troy University. He then studied at Jones School of Law.
Before being elected to the Alabama Supreme Court, Bryan served on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He lives in Montgomery and attends the city’s First Baptist Church.
Associate Justice William B. Sellers
William Sellers, a specialist in tax litigation, was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2017 by Governor Kay Ivey to fill a vacancy.
He received a bachelor degree from Hillsdale College before studying for his juris doctorate at the University of Alabama and receiving a masters of laws in taxation from New York University in 1989. Before entering public service, Sellers practiced law for 28 years.
Sellers has been married to his wife for 35 years, and the couple have three children. They are both members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Associate Justice Brady E. Mendheim, Jr.
Brady E. Mendheim, Jr. was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018 by Governor Kay Ivey to fill a vacancy, before which he had served as a circuit judge for the 20th Judicial Circuit (Henry and Houston Counties) since 2009.
He was educated at Auburn University and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Mendheim, Jr. is married and has three sons. Both he and his wife are members of First Baptist Church of Dothan.
Associate Justice Sarah Hicks Stewart
In 2018, Sarah Hicks Stewart was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court, having previously served as a circuit judge in Mobile for 13 years, dealing with both criminal and civil cases.
Before joining the circuit bench in 2006, she spent 14 years in private practice, following her graduation from Vanderbilt Law School in 1992.
Stewart is married with three children and is active with Ashland Place Methodist Church.
Associate Justice Jay Mitchell
James ‘Jay’ Mitchell was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018, prior to which he worked as an attorney for Maynard, Cooper & Gale.
Born in Mobile, he graduated from Birmingham-Southern College and the University of Virginia School of Law, and also holds a master of arts from University College in Dublin, Ireland.
A member of Church of the Highlands, Mitchell is married and has four children.
Associate Justice Gregory Carl Cook
Gregory Cook is the newest member of the Alabama Supreme Court, having been elected to the position in 2022.
He studied at Duke University before joining the United States Air Force where he reached the rank of captain. In 1991, Cook graduated from Harvard Law School, after which he went into private practice for 31 years.
Since 1991, Cook has been a member of the Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and he is married with three children.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Kalen DeBoer explains Austin Mack Alabama football A-Day snap total
Here’s what Kalen DeBoer said about Alabama quarterback Austin Mack’s A-Day performance.
While recruiting, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer never promises anything. Ever.
And in the Crimson Tide’s quarterback room, that approach works.
It’s what kept Austin Mack, the fourth-year DeBoer disciple, and former five-star Keelon Russell in the same 2026 quarterback room, along with freshmen Jett Thomalla and Tayden-Evan Kaawa. It’s what convinced five-star Elijah Haven to join a 2027 recruiting class that already had four-star Trent Seaborn committed.
This is Alabama’s development-forward quarterback philosophy, at least for now.
“What you can show them is the past and whatever we’ve done, what it looked like for those quarterbacks,” DeBoer told The Tuscaloosa News. “Their success and production when they were in college, the growth and how that led to them going to the next level. You show them the past and then you show them what we have here at Alabama.”
It’s the story of Alabama’s 2026 room, one where the eventually-named starter — whether it’s Mack or Russell — will have waited his turn, will have watched and learned. That’s the path DeBoer wants, even if it’s not the same path other college football powers take.
In the 12-team 2025 College Football Playoff fold, seven offenses were led by a veteran transfer quarterback, including each one that ended up in the CFP national championship game.
DeBoer has had transfers. Oregon State transfer Marcus McMaryion was his quarterback at Fresno State in 2017 and 2018. Washington transfer Jake Haener was DeBoer’s quarterback at Fresno State in 2020 and 2021. Michael Penix Jr. followed DeBoer to Washington in 2022 from Indiana. And Mack followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa.
But in terms of proven entities, in terms of rentals for one last run at a national championship, that doesn’t seem to be DeBoer’s style.
“To me, what you’d love to have is a guy who can come in and he can feel comfortable when his time comes,” DeBoer said. “Sooner than later is what they are hoping for, but (to be) so comfortable with the offense, the people around him and what it looks like leadership wise.”
This is the story of Ty Simpson, who had the respect of his teammates after seasons of work in the shadows. DeBoer knew exactly who Simpson was as a person. DeBoer understood Simpson’s strengths enough to put him in a position to succeed.
“The more knowledge they have of the offense, the easier it is to make checks and execute in the biggest moments that they are going to be in here,” DeBoer said.
That’s a part of Alabama’s recruiting pitch at quarterback, something DeBoer and company made clear to Haven. And it’s a philosophy that may not remain stagnant.
“Just because Alabama hasn’t necessarily dipped into the transfer portal a whole lot over the last, whatever, five, six years that that’s really become such a big thing, that doesn’t mean that can’t change because, certainly, you got to win and you got to win now,” The Dunham School football coach Neil Weiner said. “Sometimes those older, veteran guys are the ones that do it. I think Elijah understands that. I don’t think he’s worried about who will come in in the future.”
No promises were made in Alabama’s quarterback room. But the pitch remains clear and consistent, one players continue to buy into.
“I think it’s just making it very clear and then what happens is guys who really want to be pushed to be the best,” DeBoer said. “And (if) it’s actually who they are, they end up being attracted to that, and they want to be a part of it.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBMA) — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is asking a federal court to allow the state to use its own congressional district map ahead of the May 19 primary, arguing that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has changed the legal landscape for voting rights redistricting challenges.
Marshall filed an emergency motion with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama seeking to lift injunctions that have blocked Alabama from using the congressional map enacted by the Legislature. The request follows what Marshall described as a landmark Supreme Court ruling last week that “significantly changed the legal standards governing voting rights redistricting claims.”
In that ruling, the Supreme Court held that states have authority to draw district lines based on political and traditional geographic considerations, and that challengers must show race — not partisan politics — drove a state’s decisions. The court also held that pointing to racially polarized voting patterns alone is not enough to prove a violation without also showing the voting patterns could not be explained by party affiliation.
“The Supreme Court has confirmed that the claims that led to the injunctions against Alabama’s map are no longer viable,” Marshall said. “We are asking the court to lift those injunctions so that Alabama can conduct its congressional elections using the map its legislature lawfully enacted.”
The filing is the latest in a series of actions Marshall has taken since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. On April 30, Marshall filed emergency motions with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to vacate the congressional map injunctions and remand the cases. On May 4, he filed a separate emergency motion with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to lift injunctions involving a different set of maps — Alabama’s state Senate districts.
The motion filed today asks the original district court that issued the congressional map injunctions to stay its own orders while appeals continue.
Gov. Kay Ivey has called the Alabama Legislature into a special session this week to prepare for the possibility that elections may proceed under the state’s map. Marshall asked the court to rule no later than 3 p.m. tomorrow, May 6, saying the state needs time to make preparations before the primary.
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“Alabama deserves the same opportunity as every other state to conduct its elections in an orderly manner using a map drawn by its own legislature,” Marshall said. “I will continue to do everything in my power to make that a reality. We are confident the court will recognize that last week’s Supreme Court decision requires a fresh look at these injunctions.”
Every April, Alabama football sends a fresh batch of players to the NFL via the NFL draft.
This past April, the Crimson Tide’s streak of having at least one player selected in the first round reached 18 straight years when offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor went to the Miami Dolphins with the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
One pick later, the Los Angeles Rams made the most stunning move of the draft when they selected quarterback Ty Simpson 13th overall.
Alabama’s 18-year streak of having at least one player selected in the draft is the longest in college football history. The Ohio State Buckeyes are second to Alabama, having had a player drafted in the first round in 11 consecutive years. The Georgia Bulldogs have now done it nine years in a row.
The Crimson Tide had 10 players taken overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Germie Bernard was a second-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Alabama had seven players drafted on Day 3: LT Overton (fourth round, Dallas Cowboys), Parker Brailsford (fifth round, Cleveland Browns), Justin Jefferson (fifth round, Cleveland), Josh Cuevas (fifth round, Baltimore Ravens), Domani Jackson (sixth round, Green Bay Packers), Tim Keenan III (seventh round, Rams), and Jam Miller (seventh round, New England Patriots).
As for which team has the most Alabama players on its roster after the draft? Take a look.
Which NFL teams have the most Alabama football players?
Here’s a breakdown of Alabama players on current NFL rosters following the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9 — DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Tyler Steen, Cameron Latu, Jihaad Campbell, Byron Young, Deontae Lawson, Jaeden Roberts, Jalen Hurts (Alabama/Oklahoma)
- Atlanta Falcons: 5 — Da’Shawn Hand, Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Harris, DeMarcco Hellams, Brian Robinson
- Detroit Lions: 4 — Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Terrion Arnold
- Seattle Seahawks: 4 — Jarren Reed, Josh Jobe, Jalen Milroe, Robbie Ouzts
- Baltimore Ravens: 3 — Derrick Henry, Marlon Humphrey, Josh Cuevas
- Carolina Panthers: 3 — Bryce Young, John Metchie, LaBryan Ray
- Cleveland Browns: 3 — Jerry Jeudy, Parker Brailsford, Justin Jefferson
- Dallas Cowboys: 3 — Quinnen Williams, Tyler Booker, LT Overton
- Denver Broncos: 3 — Jaylen Waddle, Patrick Surtain II, Que Robinson
- Green Bay Packers: 3 — Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, Domani Jackson
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3 — Dalvin Tomlinson, JK Scott, Justin Eboigbe
- Los Angeles Rams: 3 — Ty Simpson, Tim Keenan III, Nikhai Hill-Green
- New England Patriots: 3 — Christian Barmore, CJ Dippre, Jam Miller
- New Orleans Saints: 3 — Anfernee Jennings, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Dashawn Jones
- Cincinnati Bengals: 2 — Jonathan Allen, Jordan Battle
- Houston Texans: 2 — Will Anderson Jr., Henry To’oTo’o
- Miami Dolphins: 2 — Ronnie Harrison Jr, Kadyn Proctor
- Minnesota Vikins: 2 — Dallas Turner, Will Reichard
- New York Jets: 2 — Minkah Fitzpatrick, Malachi Moore
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2 — A’Shawn Robinson, Chris Braswell
- Tennessee Titans: 2 — Calvin Ridley, JC Latham
- Arizona Cardinals: 1 — Mack Wilson
- Buffalo Bills: 1 — Phidarian Mathis
- Chicago Bears: 1 — Jedrick Wills Jr.
- Indianapolis Colts: 1 — Tim Smith
- New York Giants: 1 — Evan Neal
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 1 — Germie Bernard
- San Francisco 49ers: 1 — Mac Jones
- Washington Commanders: 1 — Daron Payne
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 0
- Kansas City Chiefs: 0
- Las Vegas Raiders: 0
Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
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