Alabama: New abortion bill requires parental consent from ‘out-of-state’ minors, adds ‘pro-life’ day, bans assisted suicide
Alabama legislators proposed an abortion bill that would require out-of-state minors seeking abortions to gain parental consent.
The bill passed by a vote of 25-7 over opposition from most of the Democratic minority.
The bill returns to the House, which could concur with a change made by the Senate and send it to the voters.
Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, who sponsored the bill in the Senate,
wore a lapel pin symbolizing the feet of 10-week-old fetus, disputed the contention that the purpose of the bill was for anything other than its stated intent.
“You know we believe what we say,” he told Singleton. “We’re up here carrying a bill that has great substance.”
The House passed the bill 67-14 in March.
“This bill would require both resident and nonresident minors to obtain parental consent and specify the procedures for obtaining a waiver from the consent requirement are available to both residents and nonresidents,” the bill says.
The bill was filed at the end of last week by Senate Republicans Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills; Gerald Allen R-Tuscaloosa; Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro; and Greg Reed, R-Jasper.
Currently, only Alabama minors must receive parental consent. Exceptions are made for minors who are deemed mature enough and well-informed, or for minors who were sexually abused by a parent and can be granted by a judge.
photo courtesy March For Life Chicago
The bill’s introduction was part of a “pro-life day” at the Alabama capitol spearheaded by conservative Republican leadership.
The legislature is also considering bills to ban assisted suicide, declare the state a “pro-life state” and create religious exemptions that will allow healthcare providers to opt out of performing abortions.
Sens. Vivian Davis Figures of Mobile and Linda Coleman-Madison of Birmingham denounced the effort to take away women’s right to choose an abortion.
“All women are capable of making the decision for themselves,” Figures said.
“Decisions about whether to end a pregnancy are very personal,” Coleman-Madison said.
Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, accused Republicans of “grandstanding” to attract voters for the 2018 general election.
pro-life poster
