Alabama Abortion Bill Has a Hidden Agenda
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signs most restrictive abortion bill in the country. Image (Google Images)
On May 15, 2019 Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill now considered the most restrictive ban on abortion in the country. The controversial law is nearly a total ban on abortion, with the exception that the pregnancy puts the patient’s life at risk.
This comes as four other states have passed “heartbeat” bills in 2019, making abortions illegal once a doctor can detect a heartbeat. Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as 5 to 6 weeks, which is often before mothers are aware of their pregnancies.
Though the “heartbeat” bills are restrictive, the outrage behind the Alabama bill is significantly more pronounced, as cases of rape and incest are commonly given concessions by pro-life advocates that the Alabama bill does not provide.
Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R) appears to know the bill has little chance of surviving the contest it will face in court, but voted for the provocative law in hopes that it compels the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 decision Roe v. Wade.
“This is the way we get where we want to get eventually,” Collins said. Acknowledging that introducing a bill that as of today is considered unconstitutional, is a means to having the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling overturned.
Roe v. Wade is a milestone in American politics ruling that restrictive state regulations of abortions are unconstitutional. In 1973, the Supreme Court viewed the right to an abortion as a decision made by the individual in consultation with her faith, doctor or family, rather than the government.
After President Donald Trump’s new conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, the Republican Party believes the Roe v. Wade ruling can be overturned. Annulling this precedent would empower each in deciding their own abortion laws and regulations to the delight of Pro-life groups.
Using this controversial law as a means to have abortion revisited by the Supreme Court may backfire however. The Alabama bill is so extreme, that it may be dismissed out of hand by the Supreme Court for so clear and abrasive opposition of the settled law, while the “heartbeat” bills more subtle nature may draw the attention of the court.
Editor’s Opinion:
Whether you support a woman’s right to have an abortion is one of the very most controversial, complicated, and nuanced moral/principled decisions you can have. Another difficult call for us who love policy and the comprehension of our freedoms granted to us by the U.S. Constitution is whether or not a lawmaker should pass a flagrantly unconstitutional law in order to overturn a precedent already deemed constitutional.
It was a 7-2 decision in 1973 that struck down the Texas law that banned Norma McCorvey, better known as Jane Roe from getting an abortion. Fast forward forty plus years to a new world a of progressive policies for woman’s rights, LGBTQ and more, now conservatives expect the Supreme Court will regress to the political right on this issue.
Rather conservatives have the moral high ground on their position or not, it is clear (at least to me) that passing a law as abrasive as the Alabama abortion law is unconstitutional and too sharp of a turn in an effort to reach a destination that a majority of the country disagrees with which is to remove a woman’s to decide for herself whether or not to have an abortion.
