Rebecca Gomperts said Aid Access, the service she founded in the US, would continue to provide the abortion pills

A doctor in Amsterdam who helped send illegal abortion pills to Irish women has promised to run a service for women in the US despite a warning from the American authorities.

The state of Alabama introduced the most restrictive abortion law in America on Wednesday. It makes abortion a crime at any stage of pregnancy, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The measure makes no exception for rape or incest, and termination will be allowed only if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.

Irish and British pro-choice campaigners have pointed out that the Alabama law closely mirrors the Irish anti-abortion laws replaced last January, and the near ban in Northern Ireland.

Rebecca Gomperts founded the Women on Web service, which was