Alabama Governor Kay Ivey supports an appeal to the United States Supreme Court after a federal court on Wednesday struck down the state’s law that bans the most frequently used second-trimester abortion procedure.

The law, passed in 2016 and entitled the Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Act, had previously been struck down by a lower federal judge in late 2017.

Wednesday’s ruling was celebrated by the ACLU, however there may be a silver lining down the road for pro-life Americans.

In the 11th Circuit decision, Chief Judge Ed Carnes wrote that “dismemberment” is an accurate description for the procedure that the state law banned, but ruled against the state in deference to the highest court in the land.

“In our judicial system, there is only one Supreme Court, and we are not it,” he wrote.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced he was “disappointed” in the ruling but seemingly encouraged by the potential of taking the case before the Supreme Court, a scenario that his office is “carefully considering.” Governor Ivey made it clear that she would support such an appeal by Marshall’s office.

“I was supportive of the bill when it passed through the Legislature in 2016, and I signed it as president of the Senate,” Ivey said in a press release.

She continued, “I am disappointed in the court’s ruling today; however, we should not let this discourage our steadfast commitment to protect the lives of the unborn, even if that means taking this case to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Alabama’s governor also reminded Sen. Doug Jones why he should vote yes on President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.

“This ruling clearly demonstrates why we need conservative justices on the Supreme Court, and I look forward to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh,” Ivey concluded.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn