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25 men voted to advance most restrictive abortion ban in the country. The bill now goes to the female governor.

Only male Alabama senators voted Tuesday to pass the most restrictive abortion bill in the country that would criminalize abortion in the state and ban the procedure in nearly all cases including rape and incest.
Posted 2019-05-15T15:51:14+00:00 - Updated 2019-05-15T20:33:31+00:00
Alabama legislature passes most restrictive abortion bill in nation

Only male Alabama senators voted Tuesday to pass the most restrictive abortion bill in the country that would criminalize abortion in the state and ban the procedure in nearly all cases including rape and incest.

The bill now goes to the desk of the state's female Republican governor, Kay Ivey, who has not publicly announced her stance on the bill but previously aligned herself as anti-abortion.

After hours of debate, the Republican-led Senate voted 25-6 on party lines to pass HB 314.

All of the bill's 25 "yea" votes were from Republican men, including State Sen. Clyde Chambliss, who ushered the bill through the chamber. The remaining two Republicans, both men, did not vote.

There are four women serving in the state senate and all of them are Democrats who, along with their other Democratic colleagues, did not vote for the bill.

State Sens. Linda Coleman-Madison and Vivian Davis Figures voted against the bill. State Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier abstained from voting, and state Sen. Priscilla Dunn's vote was marked pass, meaning not voting or not present.

The bill passed the Alabama House earlier this month in a 74-3 vote.

Of the 76 GOP members in the House, all Republican male lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, except for two who did not vote.

The bill's sponsor in the House is a woman, Republican state Rep. Terri Collins. She, along with the six other Republican women in the House, voted to pass the bill.

Nearly all Democratic House members chose not to vote, walking out of the House chamber in protest.

Ivey now has six days from when the bill was passed on Tuesday to decide whether to veto or sign the bill. She could also choose not to act, allowing the bill to become law.

Even if Ivey decides to veto the bill, Republicans hold a easy majority in both chambers to override a veto.

Republicans make up 76 of the 105 House members and 27 of the 35 members in the Senate.

Fifty-three votes in the House are needed to override a veto, while 18 are required in the Senate.

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