Ex Parte Hope Elisabeth Ankrom. (in Re Hope Elisabeth Ankrom v. State of Alabama). ex Parte Amanda Helaine Borden…

Summary

The court affirmed both convictions, holding that the plain and ordinary meaning of “child” in Alabama’s chemical-endangerment statute includes an unborn child or fetus. Because the statute is unambiguous, the court applied its text directly and rejected the rule of lenity, while also rejecting a viability limitation. The court declined to address public-policy arguments and constitutional challenges because those matters were for the Legislature or outside the scope of the certiorari review. Chief Justice Malone and Justice Murdock dissented, while Justice Parker concurred specially and Justice Shaw concurred in part and in the result, with the separate writings addressing statutory breadth, notice, constitutional concerns, and the legal status of unborn children.