Alabama laws against abortion are considered some of the best in the country when it comes to protecting the life of the unborn. However, Texas attorney and co-founder of Heritage Defense Bradley Pierce, who has authored “equal protection” bills around the country, believes it doesn’t go far enough.
During a recent episode of “1819 News: The Podcast,” Pierce said abortions were still happening at an alarming rate in Alabama.
“Right now, the laws of Alabama do prohibit Planned Parenthood, they close abortion clinics, but they do not actually abolish or outlaw abortion,” he said. “They don’t provide equal protection.”
Pierce estimated that between July 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and July 2023, roughly 3,668 abortions took place in Alabama, “100% legal.”
“There were 6,009 or so in 2019, so it looks like abortion numbers on Alabama soil have at least gone down some, although a lot of those are just going to other states,” he said. “But the majority of abortions that were happening are still happening.”
Pierce said Alabama’s anti-abortion bill made abortion illegal for “everyone except the mother.”
“What’s happening is, because the pro-life bill has created this right to abortion for the mother in the state of Alabama, it’s not illegal for them to order pills, possess the pills, or to take the pill to kill their pre-born children in Alabama, and they’re doing it by the thousands," he explained.
Pierce said an equal protection bill like the ones he helped draft would give unborn children the same protections in the womb that everyone else enjoys after birth. He also dispelled rumors that such a bill would mean jail time for miscarriages or if a child dies while trying to save the mother’s life.
“We don’t want to put people in prison or anything else,” he said. “We want the law to teach people here’s when life begins, here’s how much it’s valuable just as much as your life, born person, so we should be protecting them with the same laws. And then we want women to be deterred from aborting their children.”
Pierce continued, “Right now, Alabama and every other state is denying the equal protection of the laws to pre-born persons. Do we believe when it says persons there [in the Constitution] it means all persons, born or unborn? That is what the pro-life movement has said for years. Well, we’re not acting like it.”
State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) introduced the Abolish Abortion in Alabama Act during the 2023 legislative session that would have treated abortion as murder. However, the bill failed to be considered, and Yarbrough has yet to refile in 2024.
Pierce encouraged pro-life supporters to stand on their principles regardless of the political fallout.
“We just need to do it and trust God with the consequences," he declared.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
