Alabama Abortion Bill Passes Senate With No Exceptions

MONTGOMERY, AL — The Alabama Senate debated for more than four hours over a bill that would make abortion a felony in Alabama, even in the case of rape or incest. The bill passed the Senate 25-6 Tuesday night.

The chamber rejected putting exceptions in for rape and incest on a 21 to 11 vote, with four Republican senators voting to keep the exceptions in the bill. The bill would make it a Class A felony for a doctor to perform an abortion and a Class C felony for attempting to perform an abortion unless there is a serious health risk to the mother.

The legislation was drafted by Eric Johnston of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition and framed as an attempt to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth said as much last week after the vote on the bill was delayed. "Abortion is murder," Ainsworth said in a statement. "Now that President Donald Trump has supercharged the effort to remake the federal court system by appointing conservative jurists who will strictly interpret the Constitution, I feel confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe and finally correct its 46-year-old mistake."

"The ACLU of Alabama, along with the National ACLU and Planned Parenthood, will file a lawsuit to stop this unconstitutional ban and protect every woman’s right to make her own choice about her healthcare, her body, and her future," the ACLU of Alabama wrote in a statement Tuesday. "This bill will not take effect anytime in the near future, and abortion will remain a safe, legal medical procedure at all clinics in Alabama."

The reaction nationwide was swift, as several lawmakers weighed in on the issue.

If signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, the ban would take effect six months after signature. However, if challenged in court, there may be more of a delay.

"My guess is that opponents of the legislation will seek an injunction that would keep the law from taking effect until it can be litigated," said Brannon Denning, Associate Dean at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law.

The process involved in bringing a case before the Supreme Court is complicated, but ultimately, Denning said, the SCOTUS decides what cases it will hear and which ones it will not.

"For all intents and purposes the SCOTUS has total discretion over its docket," Denning said. "Suit would likely begin in federal district court. The case would be appealed to the Eleventh Circuit. Then a losing party could apply for a writ of certiorari to the SCOTUS, which it may or may not grant."

Gov. Ivey has not spoken publicly about whether or not she supports the bill, but has said in the past and during her gubernatorial campaign that she is anti-abortion.

UPDATE: Ivey signed the bill Wednesday evening.