Alabama lawmaker hopes to ban ‘barbaric’ abortion procedure

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sonogram baby
Ultrasound image of baby in womb.

Under a proposed bill in the Alabama legislature, a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure would be illegal in the Yellowhammer State.

Introduced by State Rep. Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City), HB 376 the Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Actwould ban the practice of dismemberment abortions, more commonly referred to as a D&E  — dilation and evacuation.

The House Health Committee on Wednesday held a public hearing to discuss Butler’s bill. There he called the procedure “barbaric.”

According to the National Right to Life, “dismemberment abortions involve introducing a sharp instrument which is used to grasp and pull the child out, piece by piece. The child is alive during this torturous process and dies of bleeding out during the dismemberment.”

According to the National Abortion Federation Abortion Training Textbook, “D&E remains the most prevalent method of second-trimester pregnancy termination in the USA, accounting for 96 percent of all second trimester abortions.”

Bill Klein, President of Alabama Citizens For Life, weighed-in, “Alabama children should be protected by law from being torn limb from limb. No human should die this way in a civilized society. It shows a total disrespect for the sanctity of human life.”

Monday, neighboring Mississippi became the fourth state to enact a similar measure, following West Virginia, Kansas and Oklahoma. According to National Right to Life, Butler’s legislation — based on the pro-life organization’s model bill — also has been introduced in Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Utah and may be taken up in several other states.

State Sen. Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) has also introduced SB 363, a companion bill, in the Senate. The Senate Health Committee will also hold its hearing on Wednesday.

The House Health Committee closed its hearing Wednesday without a vote, but Butler says he expects it to be passed in the committee next week.

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