UA students on both sides of the abortion debate will be closely watching a bill the Alabama legislature is expected to vote on in Montgomery, Tuesday.
The bill, HB-57, also known as the Women’s Health and Safety Act, is part of a larger national trend to impose new regulations on abortion facilities. These new regulations are referred to as TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) by abortion rights advocates.
The bill would require structural changes to facilities providing abortion by classifying them as ambulatory surgery centers, and would require physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, among other things.
Melissa Reyes, a master’s student in women’s studies and president of the Alabama Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Justice, said this kind of law looks familiar.
“A bill like this was passed in Mississippi not too long ago, and has led to the closure of all but one of Mississippi’s clinics where women can go to receive abortions; and even that clinic, because of the kinds of restrictions that this bill would put on it, might force it to close,” Reyes said.
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The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin of Indian Springs, said she was unaware of what abortion regulations Mississippi had passed. She said the bill is about women’s health.
“The bill is designed to provide a safe health care environment for a woman to have a large surgical procedure,” McClurkin said.
“It is going to shut down those facilities. This same bill was passed in Mississippi, and it has shut down the clinics there,” Rep. Patricia Todd of Birmingham, Ala., said. “It is a backdoor way to outlaw abortion.”
Claire Chretien, a sophomore majoring in American studies and vice president of anti-abortion group Bama Students for Life, said she would like to see abortion clinics in Alabama closed.
“I think that shutting down every abortion facility in the state is ideal. I don’t think that this bill will necessarily shut down any or all abortion facilities in the state, but I think that’s a reasonable goal,” she said. “The abortion industry targets women, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t target them.”
Rep. Christopher England of Tuscaloosa said the rhetoric surrounding the debate is misleading because women’s clinics that provide abortions also perform other health services.
“I think people need to understand that these aren’t abortion clinics, these are women’s clinics that offer a number of different things. They are often able to offer these services at a lower rate than other clinics,” he said. “It’s an access to health care issue.”
Reyes said she also has concerns about the language of the bill.
“It attempts to define certain words, like abortion, in new ways that would have some really important legislative effects,” she said.
The bill defines abortion as the “taking of human life” and the “death of unborn child,” something which Reyes said could recriminalize abortion.
“If you criminalize abortion, you will not stop them from happening,” Reyes said. “The more difficult or costly that we make it for women to access these services, the more women will die or have serious medical complications from having unsafe abortions.”
Reyes and Chretien both said this is an important issue on campus.
“We cannot ignore the abortion issue as a college campus. We have an abortion business practically within walking distance of campus,” Chretien said. “We need to make it so that our peers are not forced to go there.”
Reyes said 58 percent of abortions are in women in their 20s.
“One of the largest reasons women cite is to finish their education and job training,” Reyes said.
McClurkin, Todd and England all said they expect the bill to pass.
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