Alabama passes near-total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest: 25 to 6 vote becomes most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973
- Alabama passes bill outlawing nearly all abortions – including those in rape cases
- Under the bill, the only exceptions are to safeguard the health of the mother
- The 25 to 6 vote makes it the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973
- The landmark case ruled that a Texas law banning women from the right to an abortion except to save the life of the mother was unconstitutional
- Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced in 16 states this year
Alabama lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday banning nearly all abortions, including those in rape and incest cases.
The 25 to 6 vote makes it the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed since the landmark Roe v. Wade case in 1973, which ruled that depriving women of the right to an abortion except to save the mother’s life was unconstitutional.
Under the Alabama bill, the only exceptions are to safeguard the health of the mother, while doctors who carry out abortion procedures could face 10 years in prison for attempting an abortion and 99 years for carrying out the procedure.
The bill comes as part of a multi-state effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court reconsider a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. Georgia recently signed into law a so-called heartbeat bill to outlaw abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detectable – typically around the six week mark.
The bill was previously approved by the Alabama House of Representatives and will now go to Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who has withheld comment on whether she would sign it but generally is a strong opponent of abortion
It was previously approved by the Alabama House of Representatives and will now go to Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who has withheld comment on whether she would sign it but generally is a strong opponent of abortion.
The law, which passed 25-6, would take effect six months after being signed by the governor, but is certain to face legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups who have vowed to sue.
Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced in 16 states this year, four of whose governors have signed bills banning abortion if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected.
The Alabama bill goes further, banning abortions at any time. People who perform abortions would be subject to a felony, punishable by 10 to 99 years in prison, although a woman who receives an abortion would not be held criminally liable.
The Republican-controlled Alabama Senate also defeated a Democratic amendment that would have allowed legal abortions for women and girls impregnated by rape and incest.
Anti-abortion advocates know any laws they pass are certain to be challenged, and courts this year have blocked a restrictive Kentucky law and another in Iowa law that was passed last year.
But supporters of the Alabama ban said the right to life for the unborn child transcends other rights, an idea they would like tested.
Republican Senator Clyde Chambliss, arguing in favor of the Alabama bill, said the whole point was ‘so that we can go directly to the Supreme Court to challenge Roe versus Wade.’
The high court, now with a majority of conservative justices after Republican President Donald Trump appointed two, could possibly overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision establishing a woman’s right to an abortion.
Just this year, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio have outlawed abortion after a doctor can detect an embryonic heartbeat.
Opponents call the ‘heartbeat’ legislation a virtual ban because embryonic cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks, before a woman may be aware she is pregnant.
Democratic state Senator Linda Coleman-Madison called the Republicans hypocritical for advocating small government that ought to stay out of private matters but ‘now you want in my womb; I want you out.’
All 27 Republican senators are men.
Actress and activist Alyssa Milano has called for a sex strike under the social media hashtag #SexStrike in response to the campaigns against abortion rights, urging women to refuse sex with men ‘until we get bodily autonomy back.’
The law, which passed 25-6, would take effect six months after being signed by the governor, but is certain to face legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups who have vowed to sue (protestors demonstrate outside of Alabama’s state senate)
Anti-abortion advocates know any laws they pass are certain to be challenged, and courts this year have blocked a restrictive Kentucky law and another in Iowa law that was passed last year
Pregnant 11-year-old rape victim in Ohio would have no right to an abortion under new state law – as politicians in Alabama prepare to vote on measure to ban most terminations
- ‘Heartbeat bill’ banning abortions after six weeks will come into effect in July
- No exception for rape, meaning many will be forced to raise their rapist’s baby
- Comes as Alabama lawmakers prepare to vote on bill making abortions a felony
An 11-year-old in Ohio who allegedly became pregnant after being raped by a 26-year-old would have no right to an abortion under new state legislation signed into law last month.
Ohio passed a bill banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected in the fetus, at around five or six weeks into a pregnancy, in April.
As the bill will not come into effect until July, the victim, who cannot be named, will be allowed to have abortion if she chooses, but thousands of other victims will soon be denied the same right.
A pregnant 11-year-old rape victim in Ohio would have no right to an abortion under new laws in her state had she been assaulted just two months later. Pictured: protesters fighting against an abortion ban dress up as handmaids outside Alabama State House in Montgomery
The legislature also means many women will only discover they are pregnant after the time period for a legal abortion has passed.
The case has raised serious questions about the so-called ‘heartbeat bill’, which four other states have passed so far.
Now Alabama lawmakers are set to vote on an even stricter abortion bill that would make terminating a pregnancy at any stage illegal tonight.
Attorney General Dave Yost defended the law after being quizzed about this specific case by CBS News.
He told the broadcaster: ‘Sometimes, the evolution of the law requires bold steps.
‘In the last 46 years, the practice of medicine has changed. Science has changed. Even the point of viability has changed. Only the law has lagged behind.’
Ohio already bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and the girl will need to gain parental consent or her case to a judge for permission.
On Tuesday night, Alabama lawmakers voted in favor of a bill that would make abortion a felony. The only exception would be for when the woman’s health is at serious risk.
Although the bill passed the House of Representatives 74-3, some GOP state senators have expressed discomfort that the bill doesn’t include an exception for rape.
‘Overwhelmingly, the people out on the street I’m talking to, they are hesitant to put into law no exceptions,’ Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said.
Alyssa Milano calls for women across America to go on a ‘sex strike’ until Georgia’s controversial anti-abortion ‘heartbeat bill’ is overturned
- Alyssa Milano has called for all women to go on a ‘sex strike’ until a controversial anti-abortion law in Georgia has been repealed
- Milano, 46, who was instrumental in the #MeToo movement, called on her vast social media following to abstain from sex until the restrictive abortion law
- The ‘heartbeat bill’ makes it illegal for women to have an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected in the womb – typically around the six-week mark
- The other states that have similar laws are Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota. The Georgia law takes effect in January
Alyssa Milano has called for all women to go on a ‘sex strike’ until a controversial anti-abortion law in Georgia has been repealed.
Milano, 46, who was instrumental in the #MeToo movement, called on her vast social media following to abstain from sex until the restrictive abortion law – dubbed the ‘heartbeat bill’ – is overturned.
The heartbeat bill makes it illegal for women to have an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected in the womb – which is typically at the six week mark.
Milano, 46, who was instrumental in the #MeToo movement, called on her vast social media following to abstain from sex until the restrictive abortion law – dubbed the ‘heartbeat bill’ – is overturned
The actress hit out against the bill on Twitter, urging women to abstain until they have ‘bodily autonomy back’.
She wrote: ‘Our reproductive rights are being erased. Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy.’
‘JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.’
The tweet has garnered a lot of attention with over 17,000 likes and 14,000 replies, causing the hashtag to trend on the social media platform Saturday.
The reaction to her unorthodox proposition received mixed feedback.
‘Please stop feeding the narrative that women are providers and men are consumers of sex,’ one person tweeted.
‘Bribing men for equal rights with access to our bodies is not how feminism works.’
‘This makes it seem like sex is something women do as a favor to men; it also furthers the misogynist theory that women should be shamed for liking sex at all,’ another said.
‘Sorry, @Alyssa_Milano, but I hate this.’
‘Isn’t this called abstinence? And isn’t this exactly what conservatives wanted?’
The other states that have similar laws are Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota. The Georgia law takes effect in January.
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