Alabama Senate Bill, SB301, passed the Senate 23-7. Last minute changes to the bill changed it from a personhood bill, which would have banned all abortions, to a ban of all surgical abortions and many chemical abortions. If the bill passes the House, it will be the first time in state history that all surgical abortions will be outlawed since Roe v. Wade.
The original text, introduced by Senator Phil Williams, read: “The term ‘persons’ as used in the Code of Alabama 1975, shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization or the functional equivalent thereof.”
The amended text now reads “The term ‘persons’ as used in the Code of Alabama 1975, shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization and implantation into the womb.”
“Personhood bills and amendments make all abortion illegal. We recognize the good intentions of the senators who changed SB301, but grieve that it will still be legal to kill unique individual human beings with some chemical abortions or in a laboratory,” says Jennifer Mason, spokesperson for Personhood USA. “Just yesterday, LifeSiteNews.com reported that a woman had given birth to a healthy baby boy who implanted in his mother’s abdomen. This baby boy implanted outside of his mother’s womb, and therefore would not be considered a person according to the changes made to SB301. The simple truth is that embryology textbooks agree that human life begins at fertilization—not implantation.”
Personhood USA applauds Senator Williams for defending his bill and attempting to protect all children, no matter their age, size, or location. SB301, while certain to save lives, still falls short of the high standard and goals of Personhood rights for ALL innocent human beings.
Ben DuPre, of Personhood Alabama and the Foundation for Moral Law, is now calling for a Constitutional Personhood amendment to ensure that no child is left behind.
“What this means is that Alabama still needs a constitutional amendment to let the people decide and to extend protection to all human life from the moment of fertilization,” explains DuPre. “Hopefully we can build on SB301 (and not merely rest upon it) to go as far as morality and justice require until all preborn children have equal protection of our law.”
