John Giles, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said: "I think you will see in every session from this day forward a South Dakota-type abortion ban bill."
	Cheryl Sabel, acting president of the Montgomery chapter of the National Organization for Women, said: "The thing that's distressing is the fact that you have these male politicians leading the charge to take away women's rights....The anti-choice forces are political extremists and religious fundamentalists, who are looking to make women subservient, powerless and unequal."
	Larry Rodick, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Alabama, said: "We're opposed to all these efforts to restrict access to abortion. It's a personal health care service that's available to women." She speculates that if the bill becomes law, women "will be forced to go back to back alley abortions or self-induced [abortions] with coat hangers." 1 On another occasion, he said:

"Alabama’s proposed abortion ban is the height of hypocrisy. On the one hand, politicians want to ban abortion. On the other hand, they cut off women from services that would prevent unwanted pregnancies." ₂

2019: Alabama legislature passes a very resrictive abortion bill:

The Alabama Human Life Protection Act prohibits essentially all abortions at any sage of pregnancy. Doctors who perform abortions face up to 99 years in prison! It was passed by large majorities by the Republican-controlled Legislature. On 2019-MAY-15, Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed the bill into law. It could become effective in mid-November, but is almost certain to be held up by a court ruling -- perhaps for years. The law makes no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest. However it does allow an abortion if required  "... to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother," or if the "unborn child has a lethal anomaly," or in the case of ectopic pregnancies.

Democratic Senators proposed an amendment to exempt rape and incest victims, but it failed on a 11 to 22 vote.

Governor Ivey wrote:

"No matter one's personal view on abortion, we can all recognize that, at least for the short term, this bill may similarly be unenforceable. As citizens of this great country, we must always respect the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court even when we disagree with their decisions. Many Americans, myself included, disagreed when Roe v. Wade was handed down in 1973. The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur."

She said:

"To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious & that every life is a sacred gift from God."

Jeremy Dykes added a comment to Governor Ivey's twitter posting, saying that the State of Alabama is:

"... #49 in infant mortality; 1/10 children uninsured; 6,000 children in foster care."

The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood have announced that they plan to file lawsuits arguing that the new law is unconstitutional.

There is considerable opposition among leaders in the Republican party to the Alabama law:

• President Trump tweeted that he is pro-life, and that he opposes abortion except in cases caused by rape, incest, or when the life of the woman is at risk. He indicated that his position is the same as that of former president Ronald Reagan.

On late MAY-17, he tweeted:

"We have come very far in the last two years with 105 wonderful new Federal Judges (many more to come), two great new Supreme Court Justices, the Mexico City Policy, and a whole new & positive attitude about the Right to Life. Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue." ₆

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said bill “... goes further than I believe” because of its lack of exemptions for rape and incest. ₆

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-KY) and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel all recently said that they support long-standing exemptions from abortion restrictions including when a woman's pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. The Arizona law does not have such exemptions.

	Laws restricting abortion in the U.S. and Canada
	Anti-abortion bills in various states
	Roe v. Wade: Its basis; court philosophies; political aspects
	The future battle over women's access to abortion; The impact if Roe v. Wade is overturned

1. Bob Johnson, "Alabama legislators consider bills to ban abortions," Associated Press, 2006-MAR-25, at: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/
2. Brian Lyman, "Alabama may be too late to join other states testing Roe v. Wade," Anniston Star, 2006-MAR-08, at: http://www.dailyhome.com/
3. " 'Bama's hopping on the abortion ban train," Pam's Hose Blend, 2006-MAR-07, at: http://www.pamspaulding.com/
4. "SB503," Stand Firm in Faith, at: http://www.standfirminfaith.com/ This is a PDF file. You may require software to read it. Software can be obtained free from: 
5. Thomas Spencer, "Senator says storms are punishment from God," The Birmingham News, 2005-SEP-28, at: http://www.al.com/
6. Seung Min Kim, "Trump signals Alabama abortion law goes too far but stresses he’s ‘strongly pro-life’," Washington Post, 2019-MAY-19, at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/

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Copyright © 2006 to 2019 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original posting: 2006-MAR-26
Latest update: 2019-MAY-21
Author: B.A. Robinson

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