MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama's Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.
"To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God," Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
The bill's sponsors want to give conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court a chance to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
But Democrats and abortion-rights advocates criticized the bill as a slap in the face to women voters.
"It just completely disregards women and the value of women and their voice. We have once again silenced women on a very personal issue," said Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Democrat.
Coleman-Madison said she hopes the measure awakens a "sleeping giant" of women voters in the state.
But Republican pollster Chris Kratzer noted that there is no congressional district and likely no legislative district with enough swing voters to put Republicans at risk in the state.
"The people who are outraged about this are not the people who are electing these guys, generally speaking, especially when we're talking about the primary," he said.
The legislation, which doesn't take effect for six months, makes performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman's health is at serious risk. Women seeking or undergoing abortions wouldn't be punished.
Ivey acknowledged Wednesday that the measure may be unenforceable in the short term.
"The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur," Ivey said.
Rep. Terri Collins, the bill's sponsor, said she believes the bill reflects the beliefs of the majority of the state electorate.
"I've heard from lots of women in the state who are extremely pro-life and they're very supportive," Collins said.
Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia recently have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. The Alabama bill goes further by seeking to ban abortion outright.
Abortion-rights advocates vowed swift legal action.
"We haven't lost a case in Alabama yet and we don't plan to start now. We will see Gov. Ivey in court," said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast.
Earlier Wednesday, the debate over abortion quickly took over on the Democratic campaign trail. Rallying supporters in New Hampshire, Sen. Kamala Harris said she would back a legal challenge to the Alabama bill. She also vowed to make a commitment to upholding the Roe decision a "significant factor" in any Supreme Court nominees she might choose as president, though she declined to go as far as presidential rival Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has promised to only nominate judges ready to preserve the 1973 ruling.
Sen. Cory Booker said backers of the Alabama measure are "saying that they designed this bill with certain provisions -- like not having any exceptions for rape or incest -- specifically designed so that they can lead a fight to the Supreme Court" to "undermine other freedoms and liberties of women to control their own bodies."
Booker said it's not enough to hope that Roe will be upheld, adding: "We cannot wait to see if this gets worse."
Among the other Democratic candidates who took to Twitter to blast Alabama's law and other state-level restrictions were Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke.
Information for this article was contributed by Elana Schor, Zeke Miller, Will Weissert, Hunter Woodall, Bill Barrow and Hannah Fingerhut of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/16/2019