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The Human Life Protection Act, also known as House Bill 314 (HB 314) and the Alabama abortion ban, is an
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
statute enacted on May 15, 2019, that imposes a near-total ban on
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
in the state. Set to go into effect in November 2019, a legal challenge against the bill delayed implementation until 2022. The bill was passed in both chambers of the
Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serve ...
in a party-line vote and signed by Republican governor
Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38th ...
. Under the Human Life Protection Act, a doctor who performs a banned abortion in the state of Alabama is guilty of a Class A
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...
, and could be sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...
. Several proposed amendments that would have allowed abortions in cases of rape and incest were rejected. From its introduction to its signing, the Human Life Protection Act has been strongly opposed by
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
politicians and activists; it has also been criticized by a number of Republican politicians. Legal challenges to the act were quickly brought by abortion rights advocates; a
preliminary injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
against the law was issued by U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama judge Myron Herbert Thompson in October 2019. On June 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' in '' Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', Judge Thompson lifted the injunction, allowing the law to go into effect.


Legislative history

The bill was introduced in the
Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contain ...
on April 2, 2019, by Terri Collins, a Republican representing Decatur. In the Alabama Senate, Republican
Clyde Chambliss Clyde Lee Chambliss Jr. (born April 16, 1969) is an American Republican politician who has served in the Alabama Senate from the 30th district since 2014. He completed his degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama in 1992, after ...
sponsored Collins' legislation. Eric Johnson, the president of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, wrote the Human Life Protection Act.


Provisions

The Human Life Protection Act bans abortions at any stage of a pregnancy. The law provides for exceptions in cases where a fetus has a lethal anomaly (a medical condition that would cause the fetus to be
stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...
or to die shortly following birth), or in cases where a pregnancy would "present serious health risk" to the woman. The law does not ban procedures to end ectopic pregnancies. It does not include an exception in cases of rape or incest. The Human Life Protection Act classifies the performance of an illegal abortion as a Class A felony equivalent to rape and murder. Doctors found guilty under its provisions could receive sentences ranging from 10 years imprisonment to 99 years or
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...
. An attempt at performing an illegal abortion is classified by the bill as a Class C felony. The bill also states that women receiving abortions would not be held criminally or civilly liable. A provision in the bill compared abortion to historical genocide events, reading: "More than 50 million babies have been aborted in the United States since the ''Roe'' decision in 1973, more than three times the number who were killed in German death camps, Chinese purges,
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's
gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
s,
Cambodian killing fields The Killing Fields ( km, វាលពិឃាត, ) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than one million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) during Khmer Rouge ru ...
, and the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
combined".


Debate

Anthony Daniels, the
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
minority leader of the House of Representatives, proposed an amendment to the bill that would allow abortions in cases of rape and incest, but it was rejected by a vote of 72–26. Collins opposed the amendment, and stated: "My goal with this bill is to let the Supreme Court possibly revisit he ''Roe v. Wade''">Roe_v._Wade.html" ;"title="he ''Roe v. Wade">he ''Roe v. Wade''decision on just the issue that they made that decision, which was, is that baby in the womb a Personhood">person A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
." Democratic representative Merika Coleman said: "I do support life, but there are some people that just support birth, they don't support life, because after a child is born, there are some things that need to happen. We need to make sure that child has adequate
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health ...
." A day after the bill's passage in the House of Representatives, Democratic representative John Rogers endorsed a woman's choice to choose, but then stated: "Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later. You bring them into the world unwanted, unloved, then you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now, or you kill them later. But the bottom line is that I think we shouldn't be making this decision." An amendment that would have allowed abortions for rape and incest victims failed in the Senate by a vote of 21–11. After the amendment's rejection, Democratic minority leader
Bobby Singleton Bobby D. Singleton is an American politician who is currently a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 24th District since a special election in January 2005. Previously he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives ...
said: "You just aborted and you raped the state of Alabama. All of you should be put in jail for this abortion that you just laid on the state of Alabama. This is just a shame. This is a disgrace. It is a travesty." The minority leader sought to
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
the legislation, but the Senate voted to end debate after four and a half hours of argumentation. In the Senate debate, Chambliss argued that under the bill, a woman who was pregnant due to rape or incest still could legally get an abortion "until she knows she's pregnant"; he had previously claimed that "there's some period of time before you can know a woman is pregnant". During the debate, Vivian Davis Figures asked Chambliss if he knew "what it's like to" suffer rape or incest, to which he answered that he didn't in both cases. Figures proposed an amendment that would make men who have vasectomies guilty of a Class A felony, and those who attempt to have a vasectomy guilty of a Class C felony. On the Senate floor,
Linda Coleman-Madison Linda Foster Coleman-Madison is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the Alabama's 20th Senate district, 20th District since 2006. Previously she was a member of the Alabama House of Represen ...
said: "This bill is about control."


Vote and enactment

On April 30, 2019, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives along a party-line vote of 74–3. Most of the Democrats in the House of Representatives walked out of debate on the bill and subsequently did not vote. In the Alabama Senate, Republican
Clyde Chambliss Clyde Lee Chambliss Jr. (born April 16, 1969) is an American Republican politician who has served in the Alabama Senate from the 30th district since 2014. He completed his degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama in 1992, after ...
sponsored Collins' legislation. On May 14, 2019, the bill was passed by the Senate by a vote of 25–6, also along party lines. On May 15, 2019, the day after the bill was passed by the Senate, Governor
Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38th ...
signed it into law. The bill was set to enter into effect in November 2019, but implementation has been delayed by a legal challenge against the legislation.


House of Representatives


Senate

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Legal challenge

On October 29, 2019, U.S. District Judge Myron Herbert Thompson issued a
preliminary injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
against the abortion ban, preventing the legislation from entering into effect on November 15. Thompson wrote an opinion in which he argued that "Alabama's abortion ban contravenes clear Supreme Court precedent. It violates the right of an individual to privacy, to make choices central to personal dignity and autonomy. It diminishes the capacity of women to act in society, and to make reproductive decisions. It defies the United States Constitution." On June 24, 2022, After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' in '' Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', Judge Thompson lifted the injunction; as a result, the law went into effect.


Reaction

Following the passage of the Human Life Protection Act, Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, ...
applauded the state of Alabama for "embracing life". Evangelist
Franklin Graham William Franklin Graham III (born July 14, 1952) is an American evangelist and missionary. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. He is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and ...
said he was thankful to the Alabama governor and the legislators who passed the bill, and continued by saying: "I hope and pray many other governors will be encouraged by her boldness and do the same." Conservative columnist David A. French opined that the law and other abortion restrictions could potentially lead to ''Roe v. Wade'' being overturned. Some Republican and conservative leaders have stated their opposition to the Human Life Protection Act. Senator
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...
of Utah stated that he did not support it because there should be exceptions for rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother. Republican House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...
and Republican U.S. Senator
Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after ...
expressed opposition to the law for the same reasons. Senator
Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Con ...
, a Republican from Maine, said that she was "very much opposed to the Alabama law", and that it was "completely inconsistent with ''Roe v. Wade''". On ''
The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, con ...
'', conservative televangelist
Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
stated, "It's an extreme law and they want to challenge ''Roe v. Wade'', but my humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one will lose". Conservative commentator
Tomi Lahren Tomi Rae Augustus Lahren (; born August 11, 1992) is an American conservative political commentator and television presenter. She hosted ''Tomi'' on TheBlaze, where she gained attention for her short video segments called "final thoughts", in w ...
called the bill "too restrictive" and said the ban "forces women into more dangerous methods" of abortion. Former president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
did not express opposition, but re-affirmed that he was opposed to abortion rights except in situations arising from rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother.
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
, the Democratic nominee of the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, called the bill and similar legislation across the country "appalling attacks on women's lives and fundamental freedoms". Other Democratic politicians expressing opposition to the law included President Joe Biden; House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
; Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
; U.S. senators
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sen ...
,
Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
,
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
, Doug Jones; Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders,
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a p ...
, Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...
; former Representative
Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate ...
; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of San Antonio Julian Castro; and South Bend mayor
Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of trans ...
. Jena Griswold, the Democratic
Secretary of State of Colorado The secretary of state of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state. The current secretary of state is Democrat Jena Griswold. Struct ...
, announced that she was banning work-related travel to Alabama in response to the bill. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot called on the state's pension system to divest itself from Alabama-based companies because of the bill. Abortion rights groups such as POWER House demonstrated in the state capital in opposition to the bill. On May 19, hundreds of people protested the legislation at the state capitol. After the passage of the bill, advocacy groups within the state of Alabama began receiving more donations. According to the Yellowhammer Fund, after a social media campaign that involved sports journalist Shea Serrano and U.S. senators and presidential candidates Gillibrand and Harris, the group received tens of thousands of dollars that would enable it to expand its services.
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
Southeast president and CEO Staci Fox vowed to take legal action against the state for enacting the bill. A previously unreleased poll from 2018 conducted on behalf of Planned Parenthood Southeast found that 31 percent of people in the state of Alabama would support a bill that would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest.


References

Footnotes Citations {{Abortion 2019 controversies in the United States 2019 in American law Alabama statutes United States state abortion legislation Political controversies in the United States Anti-abortion movement Heartbeat bills Women in Alabama