Alabama’s governor signed a bill to ban nearly all abortions in the state, even in cases of rape and incest, in the latest challenge by conservatives to the landmark US Supreme Court decision establishing a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.
US abortion rights activists had already vowed to go to court to block enforcement of the Alabama measure, the strictest anti-abortion law yet enacted with the intention of provoking reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
That effort has thrust the emotional debate over abortion back to the forefront of national politics in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential elections.
Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the measure a day after the Republican-controlled state Senate approved the ban and rejected a Democratic-backed amendment to allow abortions for women and girls impregnated by rape or incest.
“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief…
