Alabama politics in 2025 were defined by legal battles, grassroots mobilization amid federal funding fights, controversies over state agency transparency and the early stirrings of a competitive gubernatorial election. These are my top 5 stories of the year.
Abortion Help on the Line
One of my most consequential storylines centered on reproductive rights and access to legal support.
In April, the Yellowhammer Fund reopened its abortion access hotline after nearly three years of legal battles. The move followed a federal court decision blocking the state of Alabama from prosecuting individuals or organizations that help residents travel out of state for legal abortions. This ruling halted Attorney General Steve Marshall’s attempt to use an 1896 conspiracy law to stop abortion assistance.
Local Solutions to Legal and Justice Needs
By summer, the focus shifted to what “The One Big Beautiful Bill” might mean for Alabama, and a looming threat to civil legal aid emerged.
Proposed federal cuts put Legal Services Alabama, one of the state’s main providers of free civil legal help, on uncertain ground. For thousands of people, that wasn’t an abstract budget fight. It meant the possible loss of help for survivors of domestic violence seeking protection orders, seniors trying to avoid eviction and families tangled up in benefits disputes or custody cases.
As the funding picture grew shakier, local stopgaps became more important than ever.
Volunteer Lawyers Programs across the state saw their workload grow as private attorneys stepped in to fill the gaps, donating their time to help low-income Alabamians navigate the civil court system. They handled the kinds of cases that rarely make headlines like housing disputes, consumer fraud, family law conflicts, and elder abuse. Cases that shape people’s lives in very real ways.
The expansion of those programs told two stories at once. On one hand, it showed how strong community-based solutions can be. On the other hand, it underscored just how fragile Alabama’s civil justice system remains.
Parole Reform
Long criticized for operating with little transparency and for routinely disregarding its own risk-assessment tools, the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles in 2025 found itself under rare legislative pressure to explain and reform its decision-making process.
That pressure culminated in May, when the board proposed changes to its parole scoring guidelines. The framework meant to objectively measure an incarcerated person’s risk and readiness for release has often been treated as optional rather than meaningful. For years, people who scored as low-risk or suitable for parole were still routinely denied. Lawmakers responded by tying the agency’s funding to whether it modernized the scoring system, forcing the board to act.
That concern now sits at the heart of a bill proposed for the 2026 Legislative Session, which would require the parole board to give explicit weight to rehabilitation, institutional behavior and risk assessments, not just the underlying offense.
Battles with the Board of Pharmacy
In September, watchdogs and pharmacists raised alarms that the board had been conducting business behind closed doors in violation of Alabama’s Open Meetings Act—the law meant to ensure that government bodies do their work and make decisions within view of the public eye. The backlash wasn’t loud, but it was persistent, and it cut straight to trust. For a board tasked with regulating medications, pharmacies, and patient safety, the idea that decisions were being made out of view made people uneasy.
In October, the board was hit with a lawsuit alleging it had imposed emergency fines without proper legal authority, essentially skipping required steps in the name of urgency. The board argued it was acting to protect the public. Critics countered that “emergency” can’t be a shortcut around due process.
By the end of the year, what had begun as a procedural complaint had turned into a broader debate about power within regulatory bodies.
Doug Jones Enters the Race
The political year ended with a shift toward the 2026 campaign cycle.
Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones launched his campaign for governor, setting the stage for a competitive and closely watched race in a state that has trended heavily Republican in recent decades. Jones’s entry signaled renewed Democratic ambitions in statewide politics and promised to reshape policy debates around health care, education, justice, and economic development. His candidacy brought many of the year’s themes into the arena.
