It’s quite simple really. “A heartbeat is an indication of life.”
Alabama Republican Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin is the owner of that beautiful and true statement. She introduced the fetal heartbeat bill, which would require doctors to check for a heartbeat and would ban abortion if one is detected. Her proposed legislation, along with two other anti-abortion bills, have passed the Alabama House and are now going to the Senate for a vote.
Here’s a bit about the other abortion-restricting bills up for debate:
The Senate Health Committee approved three abortion-related bills Tuesday, including the fetal heartbeat bill. One bill would set stricter standards for girls under 18 getting abortions. Another would require women seeking an abortion because of lethal fetal anomalies to be advised of the availability of perinatal hospice services.
Do any of these proposals seem radical? All these legislators are asking is to save lives. Unfortunately, this kind of legislation has been stymied before. When the GOP-controlled legislature in North Dakota tried to pass a fetal heartbeat bill last year, the judge ruled it unconstitutional, arguing it violated that precedent set in Roe v. Wade. I applaud Rep. McClurkin and her colleagues for not letting that decision hinder their own efforts.
Predictably, pro-choice activists and abortionists in Alabama are complaining these bills intrude into medical care, ban most abortions in Alabama, and because the bill includes a sentence of one to 10 years in prison for those who violate the heartbeat, could turn those who perform abortions into criminals.
But, some could argue they are criminals already, performing the most inhuman and inhumane practice in the country. What other kind of procedure could have produced such monsters as this? Hopefully these bills in Alabama become as real as the unborn babies they're intended to rescue.