Alabama Senate passes near-total abortion ban

Alabama sent the most restrictive abortion bill in the country to the governor’s desk Tuesday night, with the state’s Senate passing legislation that could punish doctors who perform abortions with 99 years in jail. The state’s Republican backers have pushed the legislation, which amounts to a near-total ban on abortion in the state, forward with the express goal of overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case legalizing abortion. Alabama lawmakers join legislators in several other states in putting forth legislation to restrict abortion, such as Georgia’s recent fetal heartbeat bill. The law only allows exceptions “to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother,” for ectopic pregnancy and if the “unborn child has a lethal anomaly.”  Democrats re-introduced an amendment to exempt rape and incest victims, but the motion failed on an 11-21 vote.