7 Things: Ivey terminates special legislative session on abortion, Tuberville backs Britt in U.S. Senate race and more …

—

July 20, 2022

7. Pro-choice rally leads to 16 members of Congress arrested

U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) were just a few of the 16 total members of Congress that were arrested during a pro-choice protest.
Capitol Police stated, “It is against the law to block traffic, so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests.” While there were many arrested, AOC and Omar pretended to be handcuffed at first glance, despite not having any handcuffs on their wrists.

6. Monkeypox vaccine is coming to Alabama

State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris announced that Alabama was set to receive about 500-600 monkeypox vaccine doses. Harris advised, “The issue is that because it was made for smallpox, and there’s no smallpox, there wasn’t much of the vaccine around and they’re trying to ramp up production but there’s not very much of it.”
Only two cases of the virus have been diagnosed in the state, and nationally there are at least 1,972 cases. The vaccine is expected to work against the monkeypox virus, despite not being made for the specific illness.

5. Brooks didn’t vote for the NDAA due to ‘socialist’ items

U.S. Representatives Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) were the only congressmen representing Alabama to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act last week. Brooks explained that he voted against the legislation due to “lots of Democrat socialist wish list type items in the bill.”
Brooks explained, “It’s one thing to increase national defense spending, which I tend to favor because that’s the number one priority of the federal government. It’s another thing to increase our debt which in turn drives up inflation because it devalues our currency.” Brooks also said one of the items he disagreed with in the bill was “[r]eduction of penalties for crack cocaine possession use and sale.” He added, “We had another provision related to public lands. That’s totally unrelated to national defense, which also included the expansion of federal lands and cancellation of oil and gas leases on certain federal lands.”

4. Photos and videos of the unborn can’t be shown during House hearings

In 1999, the photo “Hand of Hope” was taken of a baby holding the doctor’s hand during in-utero surgery. U.S. Representative Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) attempted to show the picture during a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing.
Palmer began showing the picture, but U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) interrupted, stating, “The gentleman will suspend. And the staff will take down that picture… In this committee, we admit documents or photographs on unanimous consent bases.” She went on to add, “This has not been shown to the majority, and it has not been agreed to, and there’s no foundation. And we will not allow it to be displayed, and we will not allow it to be submitted for the record.”

3. Same-sex marriage legislation passes the U.S. House

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure that would protect gay marriage rights and remove the Defense of Marriage Act in a 267-157 vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stated, “This legislation guarantees that no married couple can be denied equal protection under federal law.” The chance for this bill’s passage in the Senate is unclear but unlikely.
There were 47 Republicans who supported the legislation. Pelosi declared, “We are here because…the Republican-controlled Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade: ripping away a woman’s freedom over her most intimate health decisions. These radical Justices took a wrecking ball to [the] precedent of the Court and privacy in the Constitution – and placed even more of our cherished freedoms on the chopping block.”

2. Tuberville campaigning for Britt

In a new fundraising email, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) has pledged his support for U.S. Senate Republican nominee Katie Britt. During the primary, Tuberville stayed impartial to prevent influencing voters’ decisions.
In the email, Tuberville said, “I’m so proud to stand with AMERICA FIRST WARRIOR Katie Britt in this race! Katie scored an incredible victory in the primary runoff, carrying 66 out of 67 counties. She is a tireless campaigner who is 100% committed to the fight to save our country, serving as an inspiration to the next generation of Alabama conservatives.” Britt is already crushing her opponent in fundraising at a 79-1 clip.

1. Call a special session to deal with abortion ban

There has been regular speculation that the abortion ban in Alabama would need modifications now that it was actually in effect in the state, and State House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) has asked Governor Kay Ivey to call a special session to make changes to the ban.
Despite his request, the spokeswoman for Ivey, Gina Maiola, advised, “There will not be a special session on the 2019 Alabama Human Life Protection Act. Governor Ivey has made her position on this clear, and that is that she wanted to see the 2019 law enacted.” Daniels has argued, “By providing no exceptions…our law will further traumatize children and other sexual assault victims by forcing them to give birth to the child of their assailant.”