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ACLU of June 3, 2011 |
With only one more legislative day left in this year’s
session, lawmakers in
SB 301 – Personhood Bill
What this bill does: SB 301 would define the term “persons” to include fertilized eggs, thus granting them legal rights.
ACLU-AL opposes
this bill because:
Ÿ SB 301 is a direct and outrageous assault on women's heath and well-being. Lawmakers have no place in engaging in extreme and unconstitutional ways to interfere in a woman's most personal, private medical decision.
Ÿ SB 301 is unconstitutional because it could ban all abortion care, regardless of the individual circumstances of a woman’s pregnancy.
Ÿ This bill is part of a national strategy to overturn the core privacy principles of Roe v. Wade.
Ÿ SB 301 will result in a lawsuit that could cost the state thousands of dollars.
Action Needed: SB 301 has been approved by the Senate and is now up for a vote by the House. Please contact your representative, as well as the Speaker of the House, to voice your opposition to this bill! Representative Mike Hubbard (R), Speaker of the House, can be reached at 334-242-7668 or hubbard@mikehubbard.com. To find your representative, visit: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house.html.
SB 202 – Abortion Coverage
Prohibition Bill
What this bill
does: SB 202 would prohibit
insurance companies that are participating in the new health care exchange from
offering abortion coverage.
ACLU-AL opposes
this bill because:
Ÿ Abortion is a private personal decision that should be left to a woman and her family in consultation with her doctor. It is not a decision for politicians to make. A woman who discovers that something has gone wrong with her pregnancy should not be forced to pay out-of-pocket for the health care she needs.
Ÿ While we may not all feel the same way about abortion, we should all agree that women and their families should have access to safe and affordable health services. Abortion is a legal medical procedure. It is wrong for our government to deny women the opportunity to purchase insurance for a legal medical procedure just because some people oppose it. When insurance companies choose to cover abortion, politicians should not interfere.
Action Needed: SB 202 has been approved by the Senate and is now up for a vote by the House. Please contact your representative, as well as the Speaker of the House, to voice your opposition to this bill! Representative Mike Hubbard (R), Speaker of the House, can be reached at 334-242-7668 or hubbard@mikehubbard.com. To find your representative, visit: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house.html.
HB 18 – 20-week Abortion
Ban Bill
What this bill does: HB 18 seeks to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of fetal viability and with only the most narrow of exceptions. This bill poses a serious threat to women’s health by ignoring women’s individual circumstances and failing to contain a real health exception.
ACLU-AL opposes
this bill because:
Ÿ HB 18 fails to contain a real health exception, allowing abortions only when necessary to either save a women’s life or to prevent severe and irreversible damage to her physical bodily functions. Under this bill, rape and incest victims, women whose pregnancies go awry with a serious fetal anomaly and other women would be forced to carry their pregnancies to term. If a woman is undergoing treatment for a serious illness, such as cancer, and is forced to carry her pregnancy to term under HB 18, she may have to forgo life-saving medical treatments that are incompatible with her pregnancy.
Ÿ HB 18 is political interference in women’s and families’ most personal, private medical decisions. A woman should not be denied basic health care or the ability to make the best decision for her and her family just because some politicians disagree with her decision. It would be extremely callous for politicians to impose one rule on every woman, regardless of the circumstances of her pregnancy.
Action needed: HB 18 has been approved by the House and is now up for a vote by the Senate. Please contact your senator, as well as the Senate President Pro Tem, to voice your opposition to this bill! Senator Del Marsh (R), President Pro Tem, can be reached at 334-242-7877 or del.marsh@alsenate.gov. To find your senator, visit: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senate.html.
HB 8 – Chemical
Endangerment Bill
What this bill
does: Currently in
ACLU-AL opposes
this bill because:
Ÿ HB 8 infringes on a woman’s fundamental right to continue a pregnancy and singles out pregnant women for discrimination.
Ÿ Deciding to continue a pregnancy should never be considered a crime, even if a woman is struggling with addiction.
Ÿ Prosecuting pregnant women for drug use during pregnancy drives them out of the health care system, making it less likely that they will get the prenatal care they need to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
Ÿ If the legislature is truly interested in supporting healthy moms and babies, they should introduce legislation to provide pregnant women with prenatal care, treatment and support to overcome their addiction, not jail time.
Action needed: HB 8 has been approved by the House and is now up for a vote by the Senate. Please contact your senator, as well as the Senate President Pro Tem, to voice your opposition to this bill! Senator Del Marsh (R), President Pro Tem, can be reached at 334-242-7877 or del.marsh@alsenate.gov. To find your senator, visit: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senate.html.
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