Laura Stiller hands out coat hangers as she talks about illegal abortions during a rally against HB314, the near-total ban on abortion bill, outside of the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama’s Senate passed a near-total ban on abortion Tuesday, sending what would be the nation’s most stringent abortion law to the state’s Republican governor.
The Republican-dominated Senate voted 25-6 for the bill that would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison for the abortion provider. The only exception would be when the woman’s health is at serious risk.
Senators rejected an attempt to add an exception for rape and incest. The amendment was voted down 21-11, with four Republicans joining Democrats in the seeking the amendment.
“You don’t care anything about babies having babies in this state, being raped and incest,” Democratic Sen. Bobby Singleton said after the amendment’s defeat. “You just aborted the state of Alabama with your rhetoric with this bill.”
Rep. Terri Collins, the bill’s sponsor, said she expects Gov. Kay Ivey to sign the bill into law. Ivey has not publicly commented on what she’ll do.