Alabama Abortion Law: Pro-Life State To Pass Bill To Protect Rights of Unborn Children

After proposing anti-abortion measures for five years that have been blocked by federal courts, a proposal in the Republican-controlled legislature could declare Alabama a "right to life" state by amending the state constitution. The proposal, which will be passed Thursday, says that it would be Alabama's public policy "to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, most importantly the right to life," Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Read: Texas Lawmaker Proposes A Bill That Would Fine Men $100 For Masturbating.

However, opponents of pro-life believe that this proposal is just a symbolic anti-abortion referendum on the ballot put by Republicans. The constitutional amendment would go before voters next year.

Conservatives are hopeful that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 law, will be overturned during President Donald Trump's presidency, AP reported. The ruling is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court on the issue of abortion — a woman has the right to get an abortion, but the right must be balanced against the state's interests in regulating abortions.

"We want to make sure that at a state level, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, that the Alabama Constitution cannot be used as a mechanism by which to claim that there is a right to abortion," said state representative, Matt Fridy, the legislation's sponsor.

Fridy refuted claims about politics behind the passing of the proposal and said Alabama is a "a pro-life state." Trump's firm stance on anti-abolition and pro-life made him win in Alabama in November with 62 percent of the vote, according to AP.

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Other states such as Missouri and Utah have approved similar "right to life" measures.

In several cases, federal judges have ruled Alabama's abortion restrictions to be unconstitutional. A federal judge blocked abortion restrictions in Alabama on October 27, that limited the proximity of clinics to public schools and ban a procedure used to terminate pregnancies in the second trimester, Reuters reported.