Another prominent Republican woman is emphasizing her support for HB 314, the bill sponsored by State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) that is aimed at getting the U.S. Supreme Court to re-examine Roe v. Wade on the basis of personhood.
The bill was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) on Wednesday. Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R-AL) has also come out in support of the legislation.
Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) Chairman Terry Lathan issued a statement following Ivey signing HB 314.
“The legislation passed by the Alabama House of Representatives and State Senate, and now signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey, is a positive step forward in protecting the lives of the unborn, millions of which have been ended since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision in 1973,” Lathan said.
The law will not go into effect as long as Roe v. Wade stands, and even if Roe v. Wade was not currently the law of the land, HB 314 contained a provision stipulating the law becomes effective six months from Wednesday.
“Our legislators have worked tirelessly on this measure in hopes it will be a ‘test case’ that will ultimately lead to SCOTUS reviewing the Roe decision, one which even the lead plaintiff now wants overturned,” Lathan advised.
She continued, “Alabama is a pro-life state. Whenever the issue of ending abortion is put before the voters, it receives overwhelming support. Just this past November when Amendment Two was on the ballot, Alabama spoke up strongly and voted to affirm the sanctity of life.”
Amendment Two passed 59%-41% even though Planned Parenthood and allied out-of-state liberal groups spent approximately $1.5 million in dark money opposition to the November 2018 referendum on Alabama’s statewide general election ballot.
“The Alabama Republican Party thanks our Legislators and Governor for hearing the will of the people and acting upon it,” Lathan emphasized.
“Our nation is a republic,” the ALGOP chair concluded. “Alabama is standing up for ourselves; as our state motto says ‘We Dare Defend Our Rights.’ Our state is willing to have this fight in the Supreme Court of the United States for the 60-plus million aborted Americans, including Alabama babies.”
Ignoring all of the women who supported HB 314 (polling has also shown that Alabama women are more pro-life than the men), Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) said regarding the bill’s passage, “I refuse to believe that these Republican men represent the views of most Alabamians.”
“Their action is both unconstitutional and shameful. The people of Alabama deserve to be on the #rightsideofhistory – not the side of extremists. Women deserve better,” Jones added.
A recent Kaiser Foundation study concluded that 60% of babies aborted in Alabama are black. In 2018, more babies were aborted in Tuscaloosa than born in the city. A 2016 Lozier Institute report said, “Sixty-three percent of the women seeking abortion in the state were black, although African Americans make up only 31 percent of Alabama’s population of women of childbearing age.”
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
