Abortion industry giants and their political allies condemned a ban on most abortions passed by the Alabama State Senate Tuesday and headed to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.
“This is the most extreme and dangerous policy since Roe vs. Wade, banning abortion at any point in pregnancy — going so far as to threaten doctors with life-in-prison,” tweeted Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood:
NARAL condemned the pro-life lawmakers in Alabama as “misogynists” and the legislation itself as an “incredibly dangerous attack on reproductive freedom”:
Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL, is using the passage of the Alabama bill to fundraise:
“Abortion is NOT a crime — it’s a constitutional right,” tweeted the ACLU:
Alabama’s Senate passed HB 314, known as the “Human Life Protection Act,” 25-6 Tuesday to protect the lives of unborn children and ban all abortions in the state except when it “is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk” to the woman. The bill has no exemptions for cases of rape and incest, and is due to take effect six months after the Republican governor signs it into law.
Liberty Counsel, a non-profit litigation firm, noted the bill reclassifies abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for abortionists. Women who undergo an abortion, however, “will not be criminally liable.”
The bill is intended to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, in which the high court invented a right to abortion, though none existed in the Constitution.
“The heart of this bill is to confront a decision that was made by the courts in 1973 that said the baby in the womb is not a person,” said Republican Alabama Rep. Terri Collins, who sponsored the legislation. “This bill addresses that one issue. Is that baby in the womb a person? I believe our law says it is. I believe our people say it is. And I believe technology shows it is.”
Democrat politicians, including many 2020 presidential hopefuls, condemned Alabama’s legislation:
However, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, called the approval of the bill “a landmark victory for the people of Alabama who, like most Americans, overwhelmingly reject the extreme status quo of abortion on demand imposed nationwide by Roe v. Wade.”
Dannenfelser added:
Across the nation there is growing momentum, informed by science and compassion, and spurred on in reaction to abortion extremism in New York and Virginia, to recognize the humanity of the unborn child in the law. It is clearer than ever that Roe is far from being settled law in the eyes and hearts of the American people, and this is increasingly reflected in state legislatures. The American people want a fresh debate and a new direction, achieved by consensus and built on love for both mothers and babies. The time is coming for the Supreme Court to let that debate go forward.
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman, observed that “Roe v. Wade has already ended the lives of more than 62 million children.”
“While we cannot undo the horrendous damage that decades of legal precedence under Roe have caused, this bill is a significant step toward making the womb a safe place in Alabama again,” he said.
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