Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the state's controversial near-total abortion ban Wednesday evening. The new law is the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

The legislation — House Bill 314, "Human Life Protection Act" — bans all abortions in the state except when "abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk" to the woman, according to the bill's text. It criminalizes the procedure, reclassifying abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors. Attempted abortions will be reclassified as a Class C penalty.

The legislation makes no exceptions for victims or rape or incest.

"Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act," Ivey wrote in a statement Wednesday night. "To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious & that every life is a sacred gift from God."

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs new abortion restrictions into law May 15, 2019. Office of the Governor of Alabama

Alabama's ban is the latest in an onslaught of state-level anti-abortion measures that activists hope will be taken up by the Supreme Court and potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects a woman's right to the procedure.

Last week, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law the state's so-called "fetal heartbeat" bill, a measure that will prohibit abortions after a heartbeat is detected in an embryo, which is typically five to six weeks into a pregnancy, and before most women know that they're pregnant. The state was the sixth to pass such a law, and the fourth this year alone.

In previous years the Supreme Court declined to hear such cases. But a new ideological makeup on the nation's highest court, including the recent appointment of conversative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has emboldened anti-abortion activists to try again.

Abortion rights advocates have promised to challenge Alabama's controversial legislation long before November, when the law is scheduled to be implemented.

"We vowed to fight this dangerous abortion ban every step of the way and we meant what we said," said Staci Fox, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Southeast, in a statement emailed to CBS News on Wednesday. "We haven't lost a case in Alabama yet and we don't plan to start now."

But the bill's sponsor, Rep. Terri Collins, said that's the point. The state lawmaker called the bill a "direct attack" on Roe v. Wade and anticipates that the bill will be contested by abortion rights advocates, like the ACLU, and potentially make its way to the high court.

"The heart of this bill is to confront a decision that was made by the courts in 1973 that said the baby in the womb is not a person," Collins said last week when the Alabama House debated the legislation. "This bill addresses that one issue. Is that baby in the womb a person? I believe our law says it is."

The governor's signature comes less than 24 hours after the Senate passed the controversial law, sparking outrage far beyond Alabama's state lines. Nearly every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate weighed in to condemn the legislation. In an interview Wednesday with Sirius XM's Joe Madison Show, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker called the measure a "frontal assault on women's reproductive rights, on women's freedom and liberty."

"Not only am I 100 percent against it, but it makes me double down on my determination frankly to become president of the United States and make sure that we pass the kind of federal laws that prevent the erosion of women's rights," Booker said.

Alabama state lawmakers also compare abortions in the U.S. to the Holocaust and other modern genocides in the legislation, prompting Jewish activists and abortion rights groups to rebuke the legislation as "deeply offensive."

During the debate leading up to the vote on Tuesday evening, Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton proposed an amendment that would have carved out an exception for victims of rape and incest. During debate he introduced three women who were victims of rape and told his colleagues, "They didn't ask for what they got. It happened. And now they're having to live with it."

The amendment ultimately failed, with 21 senators voting against the rape and victim exception and 11 voting in favor of it.

Republican Sen. Clyde Chambliss argued that the ban was still fair to victims of rape and incest because those women would still be allowed to get an abortion "until she knows she's pregnant," a statement that garnered a mixture of groans and cackles from the chamber's gallery.

"In a state that has some of the worst health outcomes for women in the nation-such as the highest rate of cervical cancer — Alabama is putting women's lives at an even greater risk," said Dr. Leana Wen, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in a statement emailed Tuesday night to CBS News. "Politicians who say they value life should advocate for policies to solve the public health crises that are killing women, not dismantle what little access to health care Alabamians have left." </s> ALABAMA- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law a controversial abortion bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison.

“Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, a bill that was approved by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature,” said Ivey, a Republican, in a statement. “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.”

The Alabama Senate passed the bill 25-6 late Tuesday night. The law 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.” Democrats re-introduced an amendment to exempt rape and incest victims, but the motion failed on an 11-21 vote. </s> MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on a proposed on Alabama's abortion bill (all times local):

Conservative televangelist Pat Robertson says Alabama has "gone too far" by passing a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

Robertson is a longtime abortion opponent, but on Wednesday, as he hosted "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network, he called the bill "extreme" and noted that it does not have exceptions for rape or incest.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the measure into law Wednesday evening, although it is expected to be challenged in court.

Some Alabama lawmakers are hoping to ignite a legal fight in the hopes of getting the U.S. Supreme Court to gut abortion rights nationwide.

Robertson, however, said, "My humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one will lose."

Alabama's governor has signed the most stringent abortion ban in the nation.

Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the measure Wednesday. The law will make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison.

The bill contains an exception for when the pregnancy creates a serious health risk for the woman, but not an exception for rape or incest.

There would be no punishment for the woman receiving the abortion, only for the abortion provider.

Critics have promised a swift lawsuit to challenge Alabama's ban if enacted.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is not saying whether she intends to sign a proposed abortion ban into law.

Ivey told reporters Wednesday that she will review the legislation approved by lawmakers Tuesday night before announcing her decision. She says potential legal fees should not deter "efforts to protect the unborn."

The Alabama Legislature has given final approval to the nation's most restrictive abortion law in the country, a measure that makes performing abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony.

Supporters say they hope to create a court case to challenge the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Abortion rights advocates are urging Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to veto an attempted abortion ban in Alabama and vowed swift legal action to prevent it from taking effect.

Staci Fox, of Planned Parenthood Southeast, said they urged Ivey to veto "this dangerous bill." She says they'll file a legal challenge against the ban if needed to block it from taking effect.

Lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to legislation that would make it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

However, even supporters of the bill expect courts to quickly block it from taking effect.

State Rep. Terri Collins said the goal is to create a court case to challenge the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will now decide whether to sign legislation that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state as some conservatives seek to ignite legal fights in the hopes of getting the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the landmark 1973 decision that made the procedure legal.

The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday gave final approval to the nation's most restrictive abortion law in the country, a measure that makes performing abortion a felony at any stage of pregnancy with almost no exceptions.

Ivey will now decide whether to sign the bill State senators voted for 25-6. It cleared the House of Representatives earlier 74-3.

State Rep. Terri Collins said the goal is to create a court case to challenge the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, who voted against the bill, said the state should be ashamed. </s> (CNN) –Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law a controversial abortion bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison.

“Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, a bill that was approved by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature,” said Ivey, a Republican, in a statement. “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.”

The Alabama Senate passed the bill 25-6 late Tuesday night. The law 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.” Democrats re-introduced an amendment to exempt rape and incest victims, but the motion failed on an 11-21 vote.

Ivey noted in her statement that the new law may be unenforceable due to the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. But, the new law was passed with the aim of challenging that decision, Ivey said.

“No matter one’s personal view on abortion, we can all recognize that, at least for the short term, this bill may similarly be unenforceable,” Ivey wrote. “As citizens of this great country, we must always respect the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court even when we disagree with their decisions. Many Americans, myself included, disagreed when Roe v. Wade was handed down in 1973. The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur.”

Alabama lawmakers now lead the pack of legislators across several states who are producing measures to restrict abortion, such as Georgia’s recent fetal heartbeat bill. Many women don’t yet know for certain that they’re pregnant at six weeks into a pregnancy — the earliest a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Republican state Sen. Clyde Chambliss, who ushered the bill through the chamber, repeatedly referred on the Senate floor Tuesday to a “window” of time between conception and when a woman knows for certain that she’s pregnant. The state senator said he believed that time was between about seven and 10 days.

Yashica Robinson, an obstetrician at the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives who provides abortion services, said the law would have a “devastating impact” on patients. She said that she was unclear under what circumstances the law would allow an abortion based on “reasonable medical judgment” and health of the mother.

“I’m not clear about exactly what that means,” Robinson said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” “I’ve already met instances where it is difficult for us to determine those things in the health care setting now, and it has resulted in delays in care.”

The bill’s passage Tuesday night elicited a wave of protest from a slew of Democrats, including 2020 hopefuls, and celebrities.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sandersand former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke all ripped the legislation as unconstitutional. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren vowed to protect Roe.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced that she was headed to Georgia to “fight back, hard, on the frontlines” against “the greatest threat to reproductive freedom in our lifetimes.”

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called the bill an example of “appalling attacks on women’s lives and fundamental freedoms.”

American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama Executive Director Randall Marshall promised Ivey a lawsuit, slamming the governor for the anticipated legal costs that the legislation would mean for the state from court challenges.

“By signing this bill, the governor and her colleagues in the state legislature have decided to waste millions in Alabama taxpayer dollars in order to defend a bill that is simply a political effort to overturn 46 years of precedent that has followed the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision,” he wrote in a statement Wednesday.

“We will not allow that to happen, and we will see them in court,” Marshall added. “Despite the governor signing this bill, clinics will remain open, and abortion is still a safe, legal medical procedure at all clinics in Alabama.”

Marshall told CNN on Tuesday before the bill’s Senate passage that his organization would join with the national ACLU, Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood Southeast to challenge the measure in court within “a few weeks” should it become law.

“We vowed to fight this dangerous abortion ban every step of the way and we meant what we said,” Fox told CNN. “We haven’t lost a case in Alabama yet and we don’t plan to start now.”

This story has been updated. </s> Alabama’s governor signed a bill to ban nearly all abortions in the state, even in cases of rape and incest, in the latest challenge by conservatives to the landmark US Supreme Court decision establishing a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.

US abortion rights activists had already vowed to go to court to block enforcement of the Alabama measure, the strictest anti-abortion law yet enacted with the intention of provoking reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

That effort has thrust the emotional debate over abortion back to the forefront of national politics in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential elections.

Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the measure a day after the Republican-controlled state Senate approved the ban and rejected a Democratic-backed amendment to allow abortions for women and girls impregnated by rape or incest.

“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Ivey said in a statement.

Abortion supporters across the country condemned the bill as part of a Republican-backed assault on the rights of women to control their own bodies.

“This is the war on women,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, “It’s in full swing, and it’s decades in the making.”

The Alabama law would take effect in six months.

Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced this year in 16 states, four of whose governors have signed bills banning abortion if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected.

Planned Parenthood joined the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday in filing a legal challenge to Ohio’s recent ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

The Alabama bill goes further, banning abortions at any time, unless the mother’s health is in danger. Those performing abortions would be committing a felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. A woman who receives an abortion would not be held criminally liable. </s> (Reuters) - Alabama’s governor signed a bill on Wednesday to ban nearly all abortions in the state, even in cases of rape and incest, in the latest challenge by conservatives to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.

U.S. abortion rights activists had already vowed to go to court to block enforcement of the Alabama measure, the strictest anti-abortion law yet enacted with the intention of provoking reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

That effort has thrust the emotional debate over abortion back to the forefront of national politics in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.

Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the measure a day after the Republican-controlled state Senate approved the ban and rejected a Democratic-backed amendment to allow abortions for women and girls impregnated by rape or incest.

“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Ivey said in a statement.

Abortion supporters across the country condemned the bill as part of a Republican-backed assault on the rights of women to control their own bodies.

“This is the war on women,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, “It’s in full swing, and it’s decades in the making.”

The Alabama law would take effect in six months.

Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced this year in 16 states, four of whose governors have signed bills banning abortion if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected.

Planned Parenthood joined the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday in filing a legal challenge to Ohio’s recent ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

The Alabama bill goes further, banning abortions at any time, unless the mother’s health is in danger. Those performing abortions would be committing a felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. A woman who receives an abortion would not be held criminally liable.

Most of the Democratic candidates seeking their party’s 2020 nomination to run for the White House condemned the Alabama law, calling it an attack on women’s rights and vowing to fight to uphold legal access to abortion.

“The idea that supposed leaders have passed a law that would criminalize a physician for assisting a woman on something that she, in consult with her physician, with her God, with her faith leader, has made the decision to do, that is her body that you would criminalize,” U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California, one of the large field of hopefuls, said at a town hall on Wednesday morning in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Some on Twitter had called on their allies to mail coat hangers to Ivey, as a reminder of the illegal abortion practices common before it was made legal.

Christian television broadcaster Pat Robertson, a staunch critic of Roe v. Wade, said the Alabama law “has gone too far.”

“It’s an extreme law, and they want to challenge Roe versus Wade. But my humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one will lose,” Robertson said on his program, “The 700 Club.”

Anti-abortion advocates are aware that any laws they pass are certain to be challenged. Courts this year have blocked a restrictive Kentucky law and another in Iowa passed last year.

But supporters of the Alabama ban said the right to life of the fetus transcended other rights, an idea they would like tested at the Supreme Court.

The highest U.S. court, now with a majority of conservative justices after Republican President Donald Trump appointed two, could possibly overturn Roe v. Wade. That decision held that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment provides a fundamental right to privacy that protects a woman’s right to abortion.

Roe v. Wade did allow states to place restrictions on the procedure from the time a fetus could viably survive outside the womb, except in cases in which a woman’s health was otherwise at risk. A fetus is generally considered viable at 22 to 24 weeks. A full-term pregnancy typically is about 40 weeks.

Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio enacted statutes this year outlawing abortion after a doctor can detect an embryonic heartbeat.

Opponents call the “heartbeat” legislation a virtual ban because embryonic cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks, before a woman may even be aware she is pregnant. </s> - Alabama's Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

"To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God," Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

The bill's sponsors want to give conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court a chance to gut abortion rights nationwide, but Democrats and abortion rights advocates criticized the bill as a slap in the face to women voters.

"It just completely disregards women and the value of women and their voice. We have once again silenced women on a very personal issue," said Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Birmingham Democrat.

Coleman-Madison said she hopes the measure awakens a "sleeping giant" of women voters in the state.

But Republican pollster Chris Kratzer noted that there is no congressional district and likely no legislative district with enough swing voters to put Republicans at serious risk in the state.

"The people who are outraged about this are not the people who are electing these guys, generally speaking, especially when we're talking about the primary," he said.

The legislation Alabama senators passed Tuesday would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman's health is at serious risk. Women seeking or undergoing abortions wouldn't be punished.

SEE ALSO: Alabama abortion bill passes Senate, heads to governor

Ivey acknowledged Wednesday that the measure may be unenforceable in the short term.

"The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur," Ivey said.

Rep. Terri Collins, the bill's sponsor, said she believes the bill reflects the beliefs of the majority of the state electorate.

"I've heard from lots of women in the state who are extremely pro-life and they're very supportive," Collins said.

Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Georgia recently have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. The Alabama bill goes further by seeking to ban abortion outright.

"We are laser-focused on urging Gov. Kay Ivey to veto this dangerous bill. If she chooses not to, then we will take this to court and ensure that abortion remains safe and legal and accessible in the state of Alabama," said Staci Fox, president, and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Supporters of the bill acknowledged the ban would not be effective anytime soon because they expected it to be blocked by the courts as they fight upward toward the court.

One mile from the Alabama Statehouse - down the street from the Governor's Mansion - sits Montgomery's only abortion clinic. Because of its location, the clinic sees a stream of patients from Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle because other clinics have closed.

Clinic staff on Wednesday fielded calls from patients, and potential patients, wrongly worried that abortion was now illegal in the state. They were assured abortion remained legal in the state.

"It's been a lot of fear. A lot of people who are afraid they can't get their procedure," said Kari Crowe, a clinic employee, and escort.

"Abortion is OK!" read a banner paid for by abortion-rights advocates that a plane carried as it circled the Alabama Capitol and Statehouse on Wednesday.

RELATED: Alabama law moves abortion to the center of 2020 campaign

Associated Press writer Blake Paterson in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report. </s> According to CNN, Alabama’s governor Kay Ivey just signed the state’s restrictive abortion bill, passed solely by Republican men, into law. We already know it’s in opposition to Roe v Wade, and that it allows NO exceptions for pregnancies due to rape or incest. No matter what you think about abortion, it’s reprehensible to force women who were victims of rape and incest to have their baby. Even Pat Robertson, as I saw on the evening news, is opposed to this law.

It’s a long road from the Alabama legislature to the Supreme Court, and nobody, I hope, will be prosecuted for performing abortions in the state until there’s a ruling. I’m hoping desperately that the Supreme Court thinks hard about how it rules here, and what it will mean for the country, but it’s all a mystery at this point.

In the meantime, I despise those in Alabama who have made abortion a felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison. </s> A seismic shift in reproductive rights has occurred, undermining the principle of Roe v. Wade, and leaving many individuals concerned for the future of bodily autonomy. On May 15, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the nation's most restrictive abortion ban into law, the consequences for which are potentially devastating to say the least. In fact, these tweets about Alabama's abortion law and other states' anti-choice legislation highlight just how serious it is, and how much we need to be paying attention.

For those who aren't familiar, this week, HB314, "The Human Life Protection Act," was signed into law in the state of Alabama. According to CBS News, it's the "most restrictive abortion measure passed in the United States since Roe v. Wade," as it bans nearly all abortions except for when necessary to "avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother" or if the fetus "has a lethal anomaly."

Even more strikingly, Alabama's new law would actually criminalize abortion; according to CNN, those who perform abortions could be charged with a Class A Felony, punishable by 99 years in prison. The Washington Post clarified that, despite popular misconceptions, women who have sought abortions cannot be incriminated for them, rather, the law moves to actually charge those who conduct the procedure (doctors or other medical professionals) instead.

The situation has caused a predictable and understandable uproar on social media, as countless people from around the country and world share the most compelling reasons why we need to rethink the legitimacy — and the claims being made — as to why this is a moral and ethical good for our country, but not individuals as a whole.

Here are some of the best.

"Your Silence Will Not Save You" Director Ava DuVernay had a message for all those who are compliant or at minimum not speaking out about the potentially dangerous infringement upon reproductive health rights and autonomy that this legislation could easily snowball into. "It's Alabama and abortion today. It's you and your rights tomorrow," she replied to CNN's announcement that the bill was passed. "Your silence will not save you. So speak up."

Singer and actress Evan Rachel Wood suggests that instead of criminalizing and banning abortion, we instead make a change at the root of the issue, and mandate that vasectomies must be given to all men past puberty. After all, it is reversible. Oh, wait, that wouldn't work? She suggests with some reverse psychology: "A hard no? Why? Cause it's your body and we don't get to make that choice for you? Ooooohhh!!!"

The Legislation Was Voted Into Law By White Men Educator, author and activist Simran Jeet Singh posted a collection of all the photos of the senators who voted on the bill, asking followers: "Notice any similarities?" Every single individual is, as it appears, a White/Caucasian male, which is fascinating in that there was not one woman representing those the bill would actually impact, let alone anyone from the LGBTQ+ community, minorities or any other marginalized groups. And out of the six individuals who opposed it, all of them were people of color or women. However, it's important to note that it was a woman who signed the bill into law.

It's Not About "Babies," It's About Policing & Politicizing Women's Bodies If states like Alabama and otherwise were so deeply concerned about the welfare of children, they would be putting as much money, effort and legislation into everything from sexual education to childcare and education. They aren't, as new reports say that Alabama actually ranks second to last for education in the United States, utilize an abstinence-only sexual education system, and lack sufficient childcare and benefits for women of color. It seems they are disproportionately concerned with what happens to an unborn fetus, and then not at all concerned with the risks and issues that come with actually giving them a quality of life.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, brought up the excellent point that legislators seem convinced an abortion ban will actually stop abortion (it won't, it will only stop safe, accessible abortion) but at the same time, legislating gun ownership won't possibly stop the ownership and use of guns. Interesting. Gun violence is on the rise in the United States, The Guardian previously reported, but rates of abortion were at record-lows as more access to birth control and education became readily available over the past decade, TIME reported the CDC shared in 2018.

"They Can Never Ban Abortions, They Can Only Ban SAFE Abortions" Another Twitter user elaborated on the issue explaining that banning abortions is an illusion, it's an impossibility. They will happen regardless. However, banning them and criminalizing those who perform them only ensures that safe abortions will disappear. It's a public health crisis, through and through. In countries such as Latin America, where abortion is illegal, The Guttmacher Institute reports that "an estimated 14 million unintended pregnancies occur each year in Latin America and the Caribbean; of these, nearly half (46%) end in abortion," leaving those women to try to utilize unsafe and possibly unsanitary options.
The Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey signs the Human Life Protection Act into law, effective six months after signing, bans all abortions in the state of Alabama, except when "abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk" to the woman according to the bill's text. The law reclassifies abortion as a Class A felony and attempted abortion as a Class C felony.