Democrat who campaigned on reproductive rights wins special election for Alabama state House seat

Washington — Democrat Marilyn Lands won a special election for an Alabama state House seat late Tuesday, flipping a Republican-held seat in the deep-red state in the aftermath of a court ruling in the state that threw access to fertility treatments into question.

Lands, a mental health counselor, made reproductive rights central to her campaign. She's spoken openly about her own abortion when her pregnancy was nonviable. And she ran advertisements on reproductive health care, like contraception and in vitro fertilization, being threatened in the state, after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children and led major IVF providers in the state to pause fertility treatments. 

"Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation," Lands said in a statement after her victory on Tuesday. "Our legislature must repeal Alabama's no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception."