AN Alabama lawmaker has proposed a bill that would force men to get a vasectomy once they have passed their 50th birthday or had a third child.

Rolanda Hollis, a Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives, said the proposal was intended to “neutralize” abortion restrictions in the state.

Rolanda Hollis, a Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives, has proposed mandatory vasectomies once men have passed their 50th birthday or had a third childCredit: WBRC

Abortion is legal in Alabama until 20 weeks into pregnancy, after which it may be performed only in cases of serious danger to life or physical health.

Hollis said the bill was a response to the Human Life Protection Act, which last year passed through both chambers of Alabama’s state legislature.

The Act was set to impose a near-total ban on abortion, including in the cases of rape and incest, but a legal challenge delayed its implementation.

It would have meant that any doctor who performed a banned abortion in the state would be guilty of a Class A felony, and could be sentenced to life in prison.

VASECTOMY BILL

Asked on Twitter to explain the reasoning behind her own bill, Hollis wrote: “The Vasectomy bill is to help with the reproductive system.

“This is to neutralize the abortion ban bill.

“The responsibility is not always on the women. It takes 2 to tangle.

“This will help prevent pregnancy as well as abortion of unwanted children.

“This bill is to help men become more accountable as well as women.”

Her bill would require a man to undergo a vasectomy within one month of passing their 50th birthday or having a third child, whichever came first, and pay for the procedure themselves.

SNIP AFTER 50

State senator Vivian Davis sought to make a similar point when the Human Life Protection Act was being debated by adding an amendment that would have made it a felony for a man to get a vasectomy.

Outlining her broader views on abortion, Hollis said: “I do not believe that women should use abortion as a birth control, but I do believe that if a women is raped or if it’s incest or anything like that then she has the choice to do what she wants to do.”

Abortion law has been much fought over in the US since a controversial decision by the Supreme Court in 1973 known as Roe v. Wade.

The ruling said that the choice to have an abortion was a fundamental right for women in America, and has been the foundation of subsequent legal challenges to prohibitive abortion laws.

Other states to have sought to roll back abortion access over the last year include Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Hollis said the proposal was intended to “neutralize” abortion restrictions in the state.