State Attorney General Kathy Jennings says the state will sue Seaford after the town’s city council passed an ordinance imposing requirements on the disposal of fetal remains.
Jennings made the announcement on social media after Seaford City Council passed the legislation by a 3-2 vote on Tuesday night.
The ordinance required the cremation or interment of fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages in Seaford.
Jennings notes in her statement that her office gave council written notice their ordinance is in flagrant violation of state law, constitutional precedent, and established fundamental rights.
She went on to say it’s been an alarming couple of years for the majority of Americans who believe abortion should be safe and legal, calling Seaford’s measures part of a wave of hateful anti-choice policies.
Jennings says council’s vote left her no choice but to sue a city on behalf of the people of Delaware and she expects the ordinance’s “inevitably short life span” will simply result in a “colossal waste of taxpayer money” litigating the case.
The ACLU of Delaware says it also plans to sue the city of Seaford, and its plans aren’t changed by Jennings announcement.
Seaford Mayor David Genshaw has said some donors have agreed to help the city bear the costs of any lawsuits.
