A bill that would ban abortion in Alabama will be introduced in the state’s legislature on Tuesday, April 2, by Republican state House Rep. Terri Collins. The bill, first announced last week, was drawn up by Collins, Republican state Rep. Rich Wingo, the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, and attorney Eric Johnston, according to a report published by the right-leaning website Yellowhammer News. A companion bill is slated to be introduced in the state Senate by Republican Greg Albritton. Despite earlier reports that it would include no exceptions, Collins said that the House bill, co-sponsored by at least 63 of 105 members of the Alabama House of Representatives, would provide “an exception for cases in which a mother’s life is threatened by pregnancy because, Collins advised, Judeo-Christian ethics recognize an innate right to self-defense.” Any other provision of abortion care would be a felony in the state. Early reports on the bill did not indicate whether or not a person obtaining an abortion would be charged with a crime. As Cindi Branham, a member of the board of the organization Alabama Reproductive Rights Advocates, noted, “The consequences are huge and they're huge on women, not on men.”

Collins acknowledges that overturning the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that found that the constitutional right to privacy includes a person’s right to choose abortion care is the legislators’ ultimate goal. In a press release, she said, “With liberal states like New York rushing to approve radical late-term and post-birth abortions, passage of this bill will reflect the conservative beliefs, principles, and desires of the citizens of Alabama while, at the same time, providing a vehicle to revisit the constitutionally-flawed Roe v. Wade decision.” Collins does not specify what a “post-birth abortion” is supposed to be.

The executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, Randall Marshall, points out that while Roe v. Wade remains in effect, the Alabama bills will not pass constitutional review. “The bill would immediately be declared unconstitutional by a federal district court, that would be upheld on appeal,” he said. “And you’re looking at a minimum of two years before this could even get to consideration by the Supreme Court.” Rep. Collins considers the costs the state would incur in defending the bills to be worthwhile: “We think this is the bill that could overturn [Roe v. Wade], what I consider to be a bad law, then it’s well worth spending the money.” Previous attempts to restrict abortion in the state resulted in Alabama paying $1.7 million in court costs to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood after a bill that would have banned a specific abortion procedure was struck down by a federal court.

Pro-choice advocates in Alabama remain on the front lines in defense of the right to health care, bodily autonomy, and a person’s freedom to make their own reproductive choices. Visit the website of the Yellowhammer Fund or the legal defense GoFundMe of the Alabama Women’s Center for two ways to join the fight.