Alabama’s Republican governor has signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.
„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 said in a statement after signing it into law on Wednesday.
The law’s sponsors want to give conservatives on the U. S. Supreme Court a chance to gut abortion rights nationwide.
Democrats and abortion rights advocates criticized the legislation as a slap in the face to women.
„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.
The abortion ban would go into effect in six months if it isn’t blocked by legal challenges.
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 in Alabama with enough swing voters to put Republicans at serious risk.
„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.
Kratzer also argued that there aren’t enough potential swing voters and disenchanted Republicans to make the issue any kind of advantage for the lone Democrat elected to statewide office, U. S. Sen. Doug Jones, who scored a surprise win in a 2017 special election.
Jones upset Republican Roy Moore, in part on the strength of GOP-leaning college graduates abandoning the controversial Moore.
