MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Democratic U. S. Sen. Doug Jones condemned Alabama’s new abortion ban as “extreme” and “irresponsible” Thursday, a day after the state’s Republican…
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Democratic U. S. Sen. Doug Jones condemned Alabama’s new abortion ban as “extreme” and “irresponsible” Thursday, a day after the state’s Republican governor signed the most restrictive abortion measure in the country into law.
“I think this bill, frankly, is shameful. It is callous,” Jones told reporters. “This bill uses rape victims and victims of incest at all ages, even minors, as political pawns.”
The legislation signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday would make performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases and contains no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Supporters hope to launch a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made the procedure legal.
“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,” Ivey said in a statement after signing the bill.
Jones, the lone Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, said he thought the debate was focused on the “most extreme voices on both sides.”
“I just don’t think that it is representative of what most people in Alabama think or what they want from the government,” he said.
