Alabama Governor Signs It

Gov. Kay Ivey puts pen to paper
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 15, 2019 7:06 PM CDT
Alabama Governor Signs It
Protesters, dressed as handmaids, from left, Bianca Cameron-Schwiesow, Kari Crowe, Allie Curlette, and Margeaux Hartline, wait outside of the Alabama statehouse after a ban on nearly all abortions passed the senate in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 14, 2019.   (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Alabama's Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases, the AP reports. "To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God," Gov. Kay Ivey says in a statement. The bill's sponsors want to give conservatives on the Supreme Court a chance to gut abortion rights nationwide, but Democrats and abortion rights advocates criticized the bill as a slap in the face to women voters. "It just completely disregards women and the value of women and their voice. We have once again silenced women on a very personal issue," said Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Birmingham Democrat.

Coleman-Madison said she hopes the measure awakens a "sleeping giant" of women voters in the state. But Republican pollster Chris Kratzer noted that there is no congressional district and likely no legislative district with enough swing voters to put Republicans at serious risk in the state. "The people who are outraged about this are not the people who are electing these guys, generally speaking, especially when we're talking about the primary," he said. The legislation Alabama senators passed Tuesday would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman's health is at serious risk. Women seeking or undergoing abortions wouldn't be punished. (But there are no exceptions for rape or incest.)

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