The Human Life Protection Act, also known as House Bill 314 (HB 314) and the Alabama abortion ban, is an

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

statute enacted on May 15, 2019, that imposes a near-total ban on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

in the state. Set to go into effect in November 2019, a legal challenge against the bill delayed implementation until 2022. The bill was passed in both chambers of the Alabama Legislature in a

party-line vote A party-line vote in a deliberative assembly (such as a constituent assembly, parliament, or legislature) is a vote in which a substantial majority of members of a political party vote the same way (usually in opposition to the other political ...

and signed by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

governor

Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38t ...

. Under the Human Life Protection Act, a doctor who performs a banned abortion in the state of Alabama is guilty of a Class A

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

, and could be sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Several proposed amendments that would have allowed abortions in cases of rape and incest were rejected. From its introduction to its signing, the Human Life Protection Act has been strongly opposed by Democratic politicians and activists; it has also been criticized by a number of Republican politicians. Legal challenges to the act were quickly brought by abortion rights advocates; a preliminary injunction against the law was issued by

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (in case citation Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, o ...

judge

Myron Herbert Thompson Myron Herbert Thompson (born January 7, 1947) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Education and career Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Thompson received a Bachelor of Art ...

in October 2019. On June 24, 2022, after the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' in ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...

'', Judge Thompson lifted the injunction, allowing the law to go into effect.

Legislative history

The bill was introduced in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

on April 2, 2019, by Terri Collins, a

representing Decatur. In the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

, Republican Clyde Chambliss sponsored Collins' legislation. Eric Johnson, the president of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, wrote the Human Life Protection Act.

Provisions

The Human Life Protection Act bans abortions at any stage of a pregnancy. The law provides for exceptions in cases where a fetus has a lethal anomaly (a medical condition that would cause the fetus to be

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

or to die shortly following birth), or in cases where a pregnancy would "present serious health risk" to the woman. The law does not ban procedures to end

ectopic pregnancies Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptoms ...

. It does not include an exception in cases of rape or incest. The Human Life Protection Act classifies the performance of an illegal abortion as a Class A felony equivalent to rape and murder. Doctors found guilty under its provisions could receive sentences ranging from 10 years imprisonment to 99 years or

. An attempt at performing an illegal abortion is classified by the bill as a Class C felony. The bill also states that women receiving abortions would not be held criminally or civilly liable. A provision in the bill compared abortion to historical genocide events, reading: "More than 50 million babies have been aborted in the United States since the ''Roe'' decision in 1973, more than three times the number who were killed in German death camps, Chinese purges,

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

s, Cambodian killing fields, and the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

combined".

Debate

Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...

, the Democratic minority leader of the House of Representatives, proposed an amendment to the bill that would allow abortions in cases of rape and incest, but it was rejected by a vote of 72–26. Collins opposed the amendment, and stated: "My goal with this bill is to let the Supreme Court possibly revisit he_''Roe_v._Wade''.html"_;"title="Roe_v._Wade.html"_;"title="he_''Roe_v._Wade">he_''Roe_v._Wade''">Roe_v._Wade.html"_;"title="he_''Roe_v._Wade">he_''Roe_v._Wade''decision_on_just_the_issue_that_they_made_that_decision,_which_was,_is_that_baby_in_the_womb_a_Personhood.html" "title="Roe_v._Wade">he_''Roe_v._Wade''.html" ;"title="Roe_v._Wade.html" ;"title="he ''Roe v. Wade">he ''Roe v. Wade''">Roe_v._Wade.html" ;"title="he ''Roe v. Wade">he ''Roe v. Wade''decision on just the issue that they made that decision, which was, is that baby in the womb a Personhood">person A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...

Legislative history

Provisions

Debate

Vote and enactment

House of Representatives

Senate

Legal challenge

Reaction

References