The most infuriating aspect of the Alabama abortion ban isn’t just its strict restrictions—it’s the politically strategic intention behind it.
On May 14, the Human Life Protection Act was passed in Alabama by its state senate with a 25-6 vote (all “yes” votes were by white men, no women) and signed by the governor the next day. It is the most extreme ban of abortion in the nation: the bill makes performing an abortion a felony, with doctors who carry out the procedures potentially facing at least 10 years in prison. There are no exceptions for cases of incest and rape and an abortion is only allowed if the woman’s health is in danger. The extent this law goes to ban safe abortion without regard to the lives of women is baffling and unreasonable.
The Human Life Protection Act is bait. Numerous sponsors and supporters of the bill stated that they want this bill to upend Roe v. Wade. They know that the bill is extreme and could be devastating to women in Alabama. However, they want the opposition to challenge this abortion ban and have the case reach the Supreme Court so that the new sitting conservative majority in the SCOTUS can overturn the landmark case. The bill is simply part of a larger scheme that will put countless of women’s lives at risk. Challenging it is unavoidable. This abortion ban is so ridiculous, so unsympathetic to women that it cannot be ignored. Advocates of reproductive rights must engage in this political game.
There is no state in the country where support for banning abortion reaches even 25 percent. (Data for Progress analysis of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies) pic.twitter.com/lrOxU0eNaz
— Data for Progress (@DataProgress) May 15, 2019
This game of political strategy is what happens when the agenda and beliefs of a minority supersedes women’s rights and general consensus. A small group of Americans in positions of power are trying to dictate how the overall population should live and reproduce. The reality is that most Americans don’t want abortion banned or Roe v. Wade changed. In a nationwide survey by Pew Research Center from 2016, 69% of Americans would not like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. In another survey by Data For Progress in 2016, it is reported that support for an abortion ban is less than 25% in all states. And based on a 2018 Gallup poll, 77% of Americans think abortion should be legal in the first trimester for rape and incest cases. That same Gallup poll also reports that 64% of Americans want to keep the Roe v. Wade ruling in place. A majority of our nation doesn’t want to get rid of abortion. But the minority is ignoring the rest of us, which may result in countless of women’s lives ruined.
It’s not only the Alabama abortion ban that was devised to challenge Roe v. Wade. Many of the “heartbeat abortions” bans passed in other conservatives states were created with the same political, strategic intention. The legislators and sponsors behind these bills don’t care about women or the societal impact of these bills. What they care about is controlling women’s reproductive role in society. Across all these bans, the safety and lives of women aren’t a factor. It’s sickening to see a particular agenda being blatantly prioritized over the freedom and livelihood of women across the nation. And it’s disgusting that many of these bills concerning women’s health and body autonomy were carried out with mainly men at the helm.
“I am outraged because this is outrageous. This nation was built on the backs and grown in the wombs of women, and our rights are not up for debate.”
We will continue to organize, mobilize, and legislate to #StopTheBans! pic.twitter.com/pTuvRuGUfM
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) May 21, 2019
The freedom and well-being of women must be at the center of this issue. Fetuses, religious beliefs, and political agendas are secondary, no matter what. It’s important then to support organizations that are supporting people running for office who understand the importance of reproductive rights and donating to Planned Parenthood as well as National Network of Abortion Funds. Especially with next year’s presidential election looming over our country, it’s also critical to look at how candidates will protect reproductive freedom (see Elizabeth Warren’s proposal). The thousands of people who marched yesterday in protest of these state abortion bans are but a small part of the larger population that wants to respect the sanctity of women’s bodies and rights. It’s time to make women the focus of the abortion discussion and keep political agendas away from the uterus.