MONTGOMERY, Alabama (PNN) - May 15, 2019 - Pro-choice activists are up in arms Wednesday morning after the Alabama Senate passed the most restrictive abortion law in the country. The law will outlaw nearly all abortions, with exceptions only to protect the mother's health, in a bill that looks tailor-made to make it all the way to the Supreme Court.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has kept quiet about whether she will sign the bill, but her strong pro-life record would suggest that she will.
The law, which was passed 25-6, will take effect in six months, but will almost certainly face a legal challenge from the Amerikan Civil Liberties Union.
Four governors have so far signed “heartbeat” bills that outlaw abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The Alabama bill goes further by banning almost all abortions at any time. Although a woman who receives an abortion wouldn’t be held criminally liable under the bill, those who perform them can face up to 99 years in prison. The state senate also defeated an amendment that would have allowed legal abortions for women impregnated via rape or incest.
Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced in 16 states this year, four of whose governors have signed bills banning abortion if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion rights.
Opponents called that legislation a virtual ban because fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as six weeks, before a woman may be aware she is pregnant.
Proponents of the new laws know that they are certain to be challenged in court, and are hoping that the matter will be taken up by the FPSA Supreme Court, which has a majority of conservative justices after President Donald Trump appointed two. Pro-abortionists have expressed concern that the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade would be overturned, however Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has said that it's “settled law” when asked by Senator Susan Collins (Maine) during his August 2018 confirmation process.
Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio have outlawed abortion after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat.
Courts have blocked the Iowa and Kentucky laws, and the others face legal challenges.
Recently, actress-turned-activist Alyssa Milano called on liberal women to go on a sex strike in her campaign to ensure that women can terminate their offspring. Milano has been widely mocked while millions of liberal men have undoubtedly been growing angrier and more frustrated by the night.