The Alabama Senate has passed the most restrictive abortion bill
in the United States, which places a near-total ban on the
termination of pregnancy — even in cases of rape and incest — and
could punish doctors who perform the procedure with life in
prison.
The text passed by the Republican-led Senate on Tuesday has been
sent to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk for signature into law and, if
approved, is expected to trigger a legal battle which its
supporters hope will reach the Supreme Court.
Under the bill, performing an abortion is a crime that could
land doctors who perform it in prison for 10 to 99 years. Abortions
would only be legal if the life of the mother is in danger or the
fetus has a fatal condition.
The largest human rights defense organization in the United
States, the ACLU, promised to file a lawsuit to block its
implementation, saying the vote showed “how little they
(conservative lawmakers) regard bodily autonomy.”
“This bill punishes victims of rape and incest by further taking
away control over their own bodies and forcing them to give birth,”
it added.
The National Organization for Women called the bill
“unconstitutional” and said its passage would “send women in the
state back to the dark days of policymakers having control over
their bodies, health, and lives.”
The Republican-led senate approved the measure by 25 votes to
six on Tuesday. Governor Ivey has not yet said whether she will
sign the bill.
Unlike the doctors carrying out the procedures, women who
undergo abortions would not be prosecuted.
Attempts to introduce an amendment providing exceptions for
pregnancies conceived due to rape or incest were shut down by the
state senate.
“You just raped the state of Alabama yourself,” state senate
Democratic leader Bobby Singleton said after senators eliminated
the amendment.
“You’re saying to my daughter you don’t matter in the state of
Alabama… It’s ok for men to rape you and you’re gonna have his baby
if you get pregnant,” he added, his voice sometimes breaking with
emotion.
But Alabama Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, who also
presides over the state senate, greeted the bill’s passage as a
“strong step toward defending the rights of the unborn.”
“With liberal states approving radical late-term and post-birth
abortions, Roe must be challenged, and I am proud that Alabama is
leading the way,” he added.
‘Heartbeat’ laws
The bill’s backers have expressly said they want to bring the case
to the Supreme Court.
Now that the top US court has a conservative majority in the
wake of President Donald Trump’s election, some Republicans want to
overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized
women’s right to abortion.
The challenge to Roe v. Wade comes as Trump is ramping up for a
2020 re-election campaign with abortion as a hot-button issue.
Several other conservative states are weighing or have recently
implemented harsh anti-abortion laws.
The governor of the US state of Georgia last week signed into
law a ban on abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is
detected, becoming the sixth US state to outlaw abortion after six
weeks of gestation.
Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted
similar laws, while electoral powerhouses Florida and Texas are
considering following suit.
All the state bans have either been blocked by a judge or are
headed for the courts.
Anti-abortion activists hope the state-by-state legal battles
will ensure the so-called “heartbeat” ban is brought before the
country’s top court. But Alabama’s new law, which outlaws abortion
as soon as the pregnancy is known, goes further still.
States with liberal majorities, however, are seeking safeguards
to the right to abortion in their own constitutions.
This year alone, 28 of the 50 US states have introduced more
than 300 new rules to limit abortion, according to a report by the
Guttmacher Institute, which defends women’s rights.
Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates said in a statement that
it was “a dark day for women in Alabama and across this
country.”
“Alabama politicians will forever live in infamy for this
vote.”
AFP