Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alabama Human Life Protection Act is now in effect in the Yellowhammer State, which means abortion is now illegal except in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
One of the legislators who was instrumental in getting that law passed said she was “not sure” if the Alabama Legislature would tweak the new law in the next session.
Thursday, State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) joined WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show” to discuss the future of abortion laws in Alabama.
“I’m not sure where we’re going to land on that,” Collins said. “I don’t see a clear cut one way or another right now. What I was a few weeks ago on a Friday morning, just over beyond excitement, could not believe it was going to actually be true that Roe v. Wade was going to be overturned and just celebrating life. And I think right now we’re looking to see kind of where everything’s landed.”
She emphasized the importance of understanding what her constituents wanted before she made a decision on any changes to the abortion law in the state.
“I’m just kind of listening right now,” she said, “I’m trying to see what people are saying and what they’re wanting. …I’m just in that mode right now to celebrate that we are once again valuing life, and then listening to see where do we want our laws in our state to be.”
Collins admitted that she had heard from some doctors who had raised issues about the new law.
“I am hearing that doctors have a lot of concerns,” she continued, “especially OBGYNs, I’m hearing a lot from them. Some of those concerns are not what I would call valid because they are not life of the mother concerns. So, I’m trying to wade through some of the fear over untruths versus just fear over unknowns. There are some things.”
She advised that while there would never be full agreement in the legislature on abortion, she was trying to understand all sides of the debate.
“I want to hear what the people have to say about this,” she exclaimed, “and I’m hearing on both sides. I truly am, even from the medical association. I’m hearing on both sides. So, this an issue that we’re never going to be unanimous in our decision-making, but I’m not trying to change anything right now, I may not try to do anything, but I am listening and open to what I think what people want our bill to look like.”
The state representative said the legislature might have to clear up some of the concerns over the law, but that didn’t mean they have to pass a new law to get that accomplished.
“I think doctors have a lot of concerns,” she explained. “I hear a lot of ectopic pregnancy. It’s the thing that the medical, those that are practicing, understand those deeper issues, and they don’t understand the law. I think that we need to clarify some of those things, which we can do without changing the law, we can do just by going through what are the legitimate concerns, which ones are real.”
Collins said there were some exceptions she could possibly see being added to the law in the future but reiterated that she was still not sure if there was any political will right now to get that passed.
“Maybe we want to be right where we are,” she said, “I know I hear that very often, but I also hear that maybe as a state we want to be where some exceptions for people that are in those crisis situations will be the best for that.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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