ALABAMA has passed the toughest anti-abortion bill in the United States, outlawing abortions in almost every case including rape and incest.
Under the new bill, the punishment for doctors who terminate a pregnancy could be up to 99 years in prison.
A woman who has an abortion wouldn’t be held criminally liable, but even attempting a termination alone could see a doctor face a decade behind bars.
The only cases where an abortion would be considered legal is if the mother’s life is in danger or the foetus has a fatal condition.
The American human rights defence organisation, the ACLU, were staunchly opposed the bill and tried to prevent it from being passed, accusing conservative lawmakers of “showing little regard for bodily autonomy.”
“This bill punishes victims of rape and incest by further taking control over their own bodies and forcing them to give birth,” it added.
Bobby Singleton, a Democratic member of the Alabama senate furiously objected to the legislation saying: “We need this bill to die!”
“You just raped the state of Alabama yourself,” Singleton said after senators eliminated an amendment to the bill seeking exceptions to the abortion ban.
“You’re saying to my daughter you don’t matter in the state of Alabama … It’s OK for men to rape you and you’re gonna have his baby if you get pregnant,” he added.
The Supreme Court now has a conservative majority since the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016, and now many Republicans are looking to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling which recognised women’s right to an abortion.
This year alone, 28 out of 50 US states have introduced 300 new pieces of legislation to limit abortion.
Alabama Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, who presides over the state senate, praised the bill and insisted it was step towards Roe v Wade being challenged.
“This is a strong step toward defending the rights of the unborn,” he said of the bill’s passage.
“With Liberal states approving radical late-term and post-birth abortions, Roe must be challenged, and I am proud that Alabama is leading the way,” he added.
