On this day in 1973, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Roe v. Wade that abortion is legal in all 50 of these United States.
Four decades later, over 50 million unborn American babies — roughly 3,000 each day — have seen their lives snatched from them before they even took their first breath. In any other context that would be considered genocide on a scale the world has never seen.
Americans United for Life, a national pro-life organization, last week released a report ranking the most pro-life states in the country. Alabama came in at number 20.
“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” – Ronald Reagan
Alabama has long had one of the most pro-life electorates in the country. Unfortunately, our legislature for decades didn’t reflect that. Democrats who controlled the legislature until 2010 did little to nothing to protect the unborn. Thankfully, Republicans have started pushing in the right direction since becoming the majority Party.
Numerous pro-life bills have become law since Republicans took control.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Kerry Rich, R-Albertville, and Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, protects unborn children who are capable of feeling pain except when the mother “has a condition which so complicates her medical condition as to necessitate the abortion of her pregnancy to avert death or… substantial or irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.” Outside of that, this law states that “it is necessary to preserve the life of an unborn child.”
The Women’s Health and Safety Act sponsored by Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, improved and strengthened the standards of care at women’s clinics in Alabama. By requiring clinics that provide abortions to meet the same facility standards as ambulatory care centers and calling for doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, this bill made it increasingly difficult for abortion clinics to remain open in Alabama.
“The right to life is the first among human rights.” – Pope Francis
The Best Interest of the Child Act sponsored by Rep. Mike Jones and Sen. Jerry Fielding, R-Sylacauga, cut down on the time it takes to move children out of foster care and into permanent homes in Alabama.
Several other pro-life bills did not, or have not yet, become law, mainly due to unfortunate timing.
For instance, in 2011, the Alabama Senate passed several pro-life bills at the very end of the session, not leaving enough time for the House to pass them and send them to the governor. Democrats, especially Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, filibustered every pro-life bill that came up for a vote, effectively “running out the clock” on the 2011 session.
Senator Greg Reed, R-Jasper sponsored a bill during that session that would have allowed the State of Alabama to opt out of allowing abortion coverage by health plans participating in the ObamaCare healthcare exchange.
Sen. Shad McGill sponsored a bill which stated that private health insurance plans and policies offered in Alabama “shall only offer abortion coverage through the purchase, by an individual policyholder, of a separate rider and through the payment of an additional premium for such coverage.”
Sen. Gerald Allend, R-Tuscaloosa sponsored the Abortion-Inducing Drug Safety Act, which would have made it unlawful to administer any abortion-inducing drug to a woman without her receiving an exam by a physician beforehand. It would have also provided physicians with guidelines to follow in administering an abortion-inducing drug.
Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, sponsored a bill that would have provided that the term “persons” as used in the Code of Alabama would include all humans from the moment of fertilization in the womb.
“A person is a person no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss
Several other pro-life bills are currently making their way through the legislature.
Yesterday, The Healthcare Rights of Conscience Act sponsored by Rep. Becky Nordgren, R-Gadsden, passed the Alabama House. The bill states that Alabama health care providers would have the right to refuse to participate in a specific service that violates their conscience if their objections are submitted in writing and placed on file prior to being asked. Services they could decline to perform include those related to abortion, human cloning, human embryonic stem cell research, and sterilization. This bill now goes to the Senate.
Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, is also sponsoring the Adoption Tax Credit bill that provides a $1,000 one-time tax credit to families who adopt an Alabama child. That bill is up in the house today.
We must continue to compassionately, yet boldly speak out in favor of every person’s God-given right to life and encourage our legislature to keep pushing until Alabama’s laws reflect the true character of its people.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
