Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called the recently passed abortion bill in Alabama, and other pieces of legislation that restrict access to the procedure, an example of "appalling attacks on women's lives and fundamental freedoms."
Clinton joined the chorus of Democratic voices speaking out against the restrictive abortion bill passed by the Alabama Senate, which could amount to a near-total ban on the procedure in the state if it's signed into law. Clinton lumped that bill in with recently passed legislation in other states that aim to limit access to abortion.
"The abortion bans in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Mississippi are appalling attacks on women's lives and fundamental freedoms. Women's rights are human rights. We will not go back," Clinton tweeted , echoing her 1995 speech at the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women.
On Tuesday, Alabama sent the most restrictive abortion bill in the country to the governor's desk, with the state's Senate passing legislation that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. The bill does not allow exceptions for cases of rape and incest and only allows exceptions "to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother," for ectopic pregnancy and if the "unborn child has a lethal anomaly."
"None of us should accept a future in which our daughters and granddaughters have fewer rights than we do. Choose a way to help, ask a friend to join you, and let's get to work," Clinton added, pointing her followers to advocacy groups and organizations that are working "to elect pro-choice candidates" and "organize for the future."
The bill heads to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey's desk. She has six days to sign the legislation, though the bill would not take effect until six months after becoming law. However, Tuesday night's vote appears aimed at setting up a legal battle over Roe v. Wade that could land in the Supreme Court.
Legal battles over other abortion-related bills are already underway elsewhere.
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project have filed a lawsuit to block Ohio's so-called heartbeat bill , which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, before it takes effect.
Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, director of Planned Parenthood state media campaigns, said in a press conference Wednesday that the future is dangerous for women's health rights, especially under the Trump administration.
"We have a President of the United States who willfully lies to the American people to score political points and to provide political cover for politicians who are passing extreme anti-women's bills. With Trump in the White House and (Brett) Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court women's health and rights are under assault like never before," Lee-Gilmore said.
