Sen. Bernard Sanders on Friday said banning legal abortion and forcing women seeking them to turn to “quacks” “will quite literally kill women.”

At a rally in North Carolina, Mr. Sanders slammed measures to restrict abortion that have passed in various states recently, calling the laws dangerous, regressive, and “blatantly unconstitutional.”

“And together, we are going to fight those laws in every way possible,” said Mr. Sanders, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. “Because if they are implemented, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous and threaten the very lives of women.”

“It is not an exaggeration to say that banning legal, medically-assisted abortion and forcing women back into the arms of quacks will quite literally kill women,” he said. “That is what happened before Roe v. Wade, and we will not go back.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey this week signed into law a measure that bans abortion even in cases of rape and incest, making exceptions only when the life of the mother is in danger or there are serious health risks.

Proponents of the Alabama law said it’s intended to provoke a court battle that could ultimately result in the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversing the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that generally legalized abortion in the United States.

On Friday, the Missouri House passed a ban on abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy with an exception for medical emergencies, but not for rape or incest.

Mr. Sanders also called on men to join the fight against such laws.

“This is not just a woman’s issue — this is an issue that impacts all of us,” he said. “And the men must stand with the women in their moment of need.”

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