State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) has announced his filing of The Abolish Abortion in Alabama Act, a bill to treat abortion as murder in Alabama.
In 2019, the Alabama Legislature passed a near-total ban on abortion — the Alabama Human Life Protection Act. It was put on hold when U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued a preliminary injunction to keep it from being enforced.
After the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overturned Roe v. Wade in the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization last June, Alabama's abortion laws went into effect.
Alabama's law makes it a felony to perform an abortion with limited exceptions, but there is no punishment for mothers who procure an abortion.
Yarbrough’s bill would create “equal protection” for unborn children, meaning abortion would be treated the same way as the murder of a born individual.
“This bill is simply an attempt to align our law with our rhetoric. Alabamians agree: life begins at conception, and abortion is murder. The Abolish Abortion in Alabama Act reflects that sentiment,” he stated.
The legislation was praised by the End Abortion Alabama (EAA), which has advocated for equal protection under the law since its inception.
See also: Anti-abortion group seeks total ban in 2023 legislative session.
“Babies in the womb from the moment of conception are humans - image-bearers of God - entitled to all the rights and protections that we as born people enjoy,” said Paul Abbott II, an EAA board member.
Yarbrough is one of the state’s many freshman legislators to enter the state house this year after being elected in November 2022
Although a freshman, Yarbrough has shown ambition before the legislative session in March. He has already expressed a desire to repeal or reform Alabama’s grocery and gas taxes and will be carrying a school choice bill called the Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Act.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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