In Alabama, Susan Watson Took on the Powerful in Defense of Our Liberties and Won. We Celebrate a Life Well Lived.
In opposing the raft of bills seeking to make it more difficult to obtain an abortion, Susan Watson often commented, 鈥淣ext it will be a crime to be a woman in Alabama.鈥� And then she got to work overseeing the equivalent of seven federal court challenges to such restrictions in her first three years as the executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Alabama. After a brief illness, Susan died unexpectedly last week, and Alabama lost a champion for civil liberties.
I knew Susan from my earliest days at the 老澳门开奖结果 starting in 2000 through the present: as a plaintiff in in Florida, as a community activist in Pensacola, Florida; as an 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida board member; as a colleague when she became the regional director in the Pensacola office of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida; as my executive director in Alabama; and as my friend.
The 老澳门开奖结果 of Alabama has a long and proud history, but when Susan took over in April 2013, she proceeded to elevate the organizational presence to meet many civil liberties鈥� challenges. I offer but a few examples.
Susan Watson with Ray Arsenault, former president of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida and civil rights historian, at the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March in March 2015.
When the Alabama legislature passed a law requiring abortion doctors to have local hospital admitting privileges, Susan was there to tell them that the 老澳门开奖结果 would sue to block the law. And we did sue, obtained a judgment declaring the law unconstitutional, and handed the state a $1.7 million bill for attorneys鈥� fees. When the lawsuit was filed, House Speaker Mike Hubbard the 老澳门开奖结果 an 鈥渆xtremist organization.鈥� He has since been removed from office after having been convicted on multiple corruption charges.
When Chief Justice Roy Moore did all in his power to thwart the momentum of same-sex marriage recognition in Alabama, Susan ensured that the 老澳门开奖结果 joined with other organizations overriding the Alabama Supreme Court and Justice Moore鈥檚 administrative orders. Justice Moore has since been suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for those actions.
When Gov. Bentley barred Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds for its non-abortion family planning services, Susan pressed for the 老澳门开奖结果 to sue and we against the governor and $50,000 in fees for having done so. The governor has since been mired down in personal scandal and has been relegated to the sidelines.
With the years of experience she had in Florida, Susan hit the ground running in Alabama and never let up. We will truly miss her drive, her ambition, her leadership and, most of all, her potential. But we will press on in her memory and her spirit.
