Restricting and Violating: Alabama's New Ban on Abortion

By. Ali Marie

Alabama’s new ban on abortion is single handedly the most restricting ban on abortion in the U.S. and the worst law I’ve ever seen. With the only exception being endangerment of the mother’s life, there are no exceptions for cases of rape and incest. The law will take effect in November of 2019 and will prosecute doctors who perform abortions with up to 99 years in prison. Claiming that it is “a violation of women’s rights,” Planned Parenthood has gone as far as bringing a lawsuit against Alabama, stating that the law is “Violating their [women's] constitutional rights, threatening their health and well-being, and forcing them to continue their pregnancies to term against their will.”

Staci Fox, President and Chief Executive Officer of Planned Parenthood, has also stated "We vowed to fight this dangerous abortion ban every step of the way and we meant what we said," and proceeded to say, "We haven't lost a case in Alabama yet and we don't plan to start now."

The new ban recognizes the “rights of unborn children,” basically stating that the rights of an unborn child is more important than the rights of the woman carrying that child. Also, while a woman who had an abortion would not be held criminally responsible for having an abortion, the doctors who performed it on her could face life in prison.

I disagree with this law for many reasons. Firstly, it’s unfair and unjust on so many levels. Women who are unable to support, or aren’t ready for, a child are forced to have that child regardless of the circumstances. Also, rape victims whose cases result in pregnancy will have to have a child, because someone else decided to sexually assault them. Why should they have to keep that baby? Girls as young as 11 will have to give birth and be mothers, just because they were raped. How is that fair?

Alabama really needs to rethink their decisions, because this law is unjust and will cause more harm than good.