Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Hundreds Protest Alabama Abortion Ban: 'My Body, My Choice!'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 20, 2019

Share

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Hundreds of demonstrators marched to the Alabama Capitol on Sunday to protest the state’s newly approved abortion ban, chanting “my body, my choice!” and “vote them out!”

“Banning abortion does not stop abortion. It stops safe abortion.” — Staci Fox, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Southeast

The demonstration came days after Gov. Kay Ivey signed the most stringent abortion law in the nation— making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases unless necessary for the mother’s health. The law provides no exception for rape and incest.

“Banning abortion does not stop abortion. It stops safe abortion,” said Staci Fox, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Southeast, addressing the cheering crowd outside the Alabama Capitol.

Alabama is part of a wave of conservative states seeking to mount new legal challenges to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Governors in Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.

None of the laws has actually taken effect, and all are expected to be blocked by the courts as the legal challenges play out with an ultimate eye on the Supreme Court.

Marchers on Sunday said the measures have energized supporters of legalized abortion, and they say they are digging in for a legal and political fight. Along the route they took, the protesters passed by scattered counterdemonstrators raising signs against abortion.

Similar Demonstrations Held in Birmingham, Huntsville

Two speakers at the rally on the Capitol steps shared their stories of having an abortion, including a woman who came out of the crowd to describe the abortion she had after being raped at a party at age 18.

Carrying an orange sign with a coat hanger and the caption “No Never Again,” 69-year-old Deborah Hall of Montgomery said she remembers life before Roe and can’t believe the push to return there.

“I had friends who had illegal abortions and barely survived,” said Hall, who for a time ran a clinic in Montgomery that provided abortion, birth control and other services.

“I still cannot believe it. It’s really a scary time for everybody,” she said of the push to overturn Roe.

Similar demonstrations were held in Birmingham and Huntsville on Sunday.

Amanda Reyes, who runs Yellowhammer Fund, a nonprofit that provides funding to help low-income women obtain abortions, said donations have begun streaming in since passage of the Alabama bill.

Groups this week paid for a small plane carrying a banner “Abortion is Okay!” to circle the Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion.

The Alabama law would make it a felony, punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison to perform an abortion. There would be no punishment for the woman receiving the abortion.

 

Law Has Come Under Criticism by Some Conservatives

But the protest outside the Capitol Sunday comes in a state where a majority of voters recently agreed to put anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution. Fifty-nine % of state voters in November approved the constitutional amendment saying the state recognizes the rights of the “unborn.”

“To the bill’s many supporters, 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.” — Gov. Kay Ivey

“To the bill’s many supporters, 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,” Ivey said in a statement after signing the ban into law.

The Alabama law has also come under criticism by some conservatives who have expressed discomfort by the lack of exceptions for rape and incest.

President Donald Trump, while not mentioning Alabama’s law, wrote in a weekend tweet that he is strongly “pro-life” but favors exceptions.

“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.

Rep. Terri Collins, the sponsor of the Alabama law, said the purpose is to challenge Roe and added that Alabama lawmakers can come back and add exemptions if states regain control of abortion access.

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

UP NEXT

Bomb Cyclone Kills 1 and Knocks Out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Riders Stuck in Midair for Over 2 Hours on Knott’s Berry Farm Ride

UP NEXT

Shouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital

UP NEXT

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

UP NEXT

Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’

UP NEXT

Warren Slams Biden Admin for Failing to Hold Israel Accountable on Gaza Aid

UP NEXT

Suicides in the US Military Increased in 2023, Continuing a Long-Term Trend

UP NEXT

New FDA Rules for TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language and No Distractions

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

1 hour ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

1 hour ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

3 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

3 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

3 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

3 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

4 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s ...

4 minutes ago

4 minutes ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

9 minutes ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

49 minutes ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

1 hour ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

2 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend