The Alabama Abortion Ban Seems Written For The Controversy Rather Than For Life

It has been stated numerous times – though not recently, which we should probably get back to doing – that the only requirement for appearing on the Front Page of RedState is to believe in the unborn’s right to life. You must be pro-life to be here because the right to life is the one fundamental belief that has tied conservatives together for decades.

In Georgia, the now-infamous Fetal Heartbeat Bill was the biggest step forward for the cause in recent years. It does exactly what should have been the plan all along. It grants personhood to the unborn child, meaning there are benefits every other child receives that the unborn now receive. A pregnant mother can sue the deadbeat dad of the baby for child support and she can receive the same tax credit she would get the year the baby is outside the womb.

This was always the weakness of the Roe v. Wade decision, and it’s even acknowledged by the Supreme Court as such. When you treat the unborn child as a medical procedure, it’s one thing. But, when you treat the unborn child as a legal person, you are now playing a whole different ballgame, and under those terms the legal game changes.

However, there are some things Georgia didn’t include in their bill. They did not obliterate prior laws that prevent the arrest of a mother who gets an abortion across state lines. They also left the very grey-area exception of rape, incest, and life of the mother.

That’s a tough subject to debate. It’s very easy to say “No abortion. Ever.” but it’s much harder to very specifically say “No abortion. Ever. Even in the case of rape, incest, and life of the mother.” It’s because those situations themselves are so difficult to imagine yourself in and it’s hard to come anywhere close to understanding what your mental state might be at that point.

We’d like to say “No abortion. Ever.” but that’s a tough sell in those cases. So Georgia, I believe very wisely, left those exceptions in. Alabama, however, is an entirely different story.

Alabama passed a sweeping abortion ban last night, and it’s one that doesn’t include those exceptions.

The amendment to add rape and incest exceptions failed 11-22. Alabama will make abortions a felony, in all cases, from the moment of conception, punishable by up to 99 years in prison.

— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) May 15, 2019

I’ll be upfront about it: I don’t like the bill. In fact, I don’t think it’s a bill. I think it’s a stunt.

I’m not totally sure if it’s just a reactionary bill to say “We’re better than Georgia!” or “We’re way better than the infanticide supporters in the Democratic Party!” but it’s a bill that seemed to have been written to generate headlines and a Supreme Court challenge. It does not look like the work of a serious Pro-Life movement.

The Pro-Life movement has, throughout the years, been plagued by “perfectionist” anti-abortion positions. State-level Right To Life groups have come out opposed to abortion bills that didn’t go far enough. A few years back, Georgia Right To Life opposed a 20-week abortion ban on those grounds.

Likewise, that seems to be what Alabama is doing, but it’s looking less like a case of genuine Pro-Life sentiment and more like “We’re gonna piss y’all off and try to win the Supreme Court now that Trump has put good people on it!”

I don’t even think this bill, if it’s signed into law, makes it to the Supreme Court. I think it will get struck down in circuit court and the Supreme Court just won’t take it up. It’s not the fight they want to have because it’s so farcical.

Other states have tried to toe the line and have still lost in court. Georgia perhaps has the strongest case so far, but even then it’s not a sure thing. Alabama just went for the “viral headline” of legislative bills and it’s going to have negative consequences.

Do I want all babies to survive until they are born? Absolutely. There’s no question that living babies are the best possible result. But, just as much as this is an issue of right and wrong, it’s also an issue of moving the ball down the field vs. going for the Hail Mary. Georgia did the former, Alabama did the latter. Alabama’s problem, though, is that the star quarterback with attitude issues is trying to catch his own Hail Mary pass, and they’re going to end up with a facemask full of dirt when they trip over themselves to try and get the ball.

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