Gov. Kay Ivey has put her signature to the nation’s strictest anti-abortion law, a move triggering widespread comment and, eventually, lawsuits over the measure’s constitutionality.
The measure, approved by the Alabama Senate Tuesday night, makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion or attempt to perform an abortion in the state. The woman would not be held criminally liable.
The abortion ban does not include exceptions for victims of rape or incest but does allow for the procedure to be performed in cases of serious health risk to the mother.
The ban has prompted waves of comments from pundits, celebrities and politicians.
Actress and Alabama native Courteney Cox
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren
Entertainer Lady Gaga
Alabama Senator Doug Jones
Vox
Alabama Republicans want to overturn Roe v. Wade. Their strategy could backfire
“Since the election of President Donald Trump, abortion opponents have been pushing stricter and stricter bills at the state level, hoping to capitalize on a friendly administration and possibly mount a challenge to Roe. But the Alabama bill could test the limits of that strategy.”
Religious leader Franklin Graham
“I’m thankful for Governor Kay Ivey—she’s a governor who’s got guts! And I’m grateful for every Alabama lawmaker who was bold enough to vote for this legislation enacting a near-total ban on the killing of babies by abortion in their state. Gov. Ivey said, “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.” I hope and pray many other governors will be encouraged by her boldness and do the same.”
ACLU of Alabama
Alabama GOP
USA Today
Planned Parenthood laments dark day for women
'Today is a dark day for women': Planned Parenthood vows to challenge Alabama abortion ban
“Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi have all passed bills, however they are slightly less restrictive and allow abortions up to the sixth week of pregnancy or when a fetal heartbeat is detected.”
Comedian Sarah Silverman
Slate
Alabama’s Extremist Abortion Bill Ruins John Roberts’ Roe Plan
“The sponsor of a bill that will affect how real women live their real lives would rather focus on overturning Roe than protecting women, even rape victims. It wasn’t enough to pass an unconstitutional law. It had to be unconstitutional and heartless. Well, at least those pretexts about protecting mothers are gone now.”
New York Democratic Senator and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
Comedian Chelsea Handler
Entertainer John Legend
Actress Reese Witherspoon
Actress Kerry Washington
The Cut
The Most Important Things to Know About the Alabama Abortion Ban
“Many critics of the bill say it’s part of a constellation of Republican policies that punish and disenfranchise the state’s nonwhite, poor, and female residents, and note that the same lawmakers who preen as “pro-life” have done nothing to address the fact that the state has some of the worst infant- and maternal-mortality rates in the country.”
Hip hop dancer and Alabama native Stephen Twitch Boss
Producer Andy Cohen
Fox News
Alabama governor signs restrictive abortion bill into law as ACLU vows to sue
“A Fox News poll conducted in February tallied voters’ familiarity with Roe v. Wade, and 48 percent said they are “extremely” or “very” familiar with the ruling while the exact same number are “somewhat” or “not at all” familiar with the case. Moreover, 57 percent of voters say the Supreme Court should let the 46-year old ruling stand; that number jumps to 68 percent among those who are familiar with the case.”
Comedian and speaker Patton Oswalt
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Actress and activist Alyssa Milano
Alabama Democratic Party
"Tuesday, May 14, 2019, was a tragic day for women in Alabama. Not only did the Republicans in the Legislature ban access to safe and legal abortion in our state, they even removed the small concession that many “cave men” Republicans are willing to support ... except in cases of rape or incest.
The prehistoric reference to “cave men” is intentional because these Republican male legislators (and a few women) might as well have beaten Alabama’s women and girls over the head with a club and dragged us comatose through the woods into their caves.
The Republicans obviously don’t trust women to think for themselves and make their own reproductive health decisions. The Republicans even distrust medical professionals to consult with and administer health care to women. But the Republicans must favor “back alley quacks” who will now perform unsafe and illegal abortions throughout Alabama.
Those Republican “cave men” have thrown Alabama’s females to whatever animal is lurking inside the caverns. On the other hand, Democrats trust women and believe in our intelligence to make good reproductive health decisions. Democrats support reproductive choice .... that means choosing NOT to have an abortion, as well as choosing to have one.
One can be anti-abortion and pro-choice! The key word is CHOICE.
When small groups of people start to make health care decisions for the rest of us, dangerous things can and do happen. Just read the stories of the government’s syphilis experimentation and studies in Tuskegee, Alabama. Ask those anti-women Republican legislators if they want a small group of Democratic government operatives prescribing their daily medications.
Ask the Republicans if the State Democratic Executive Board should determine whether they receive treatment for prostate cancer or uterine cancer. Yes, Republicans in Alabama will beat their chests and roar to the masses that Alabama will be the state to challenge Roe v. Wade all the way to the Supreme Court.
While the masses cheer as millions of their tax dollars are spent on these legal challenges, their children will be sitting in overcrowded classrooms using outdated technology, their hospitals will be closing and their county’s nursing homes will be too costly to use, and their jobs will be taken over by robots and they can’t get training for a new job. AND, their daughters will get pregnant and have unwanted babies while the Republican legislators will fly their daughters to California for a safe, legal abortion."