By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The ACLU was quick to comment on the Alabama House Health Committee’s passage of four Pro-Life bills. The groups said in a written statement that: HB 489, HB 490, HB 493, HB 494 pose a great threat to women.
The Executive Director of the ACLU of Alabama, Susan Watson said, “All four of these highly controversial bills are a disrespectful affront to the health and well-being of Alabamian women. They have nothing to do with health care at all. They are bills that intend to intrusively impose politicians’ religious beliefs on women who may or may not share that faith. We support an individual’s right to practice or not practice a faith of his or her choosing, but it is unethical to impose one’s beliefs on others and deny critical care on its basis.”
Watson regarding the four Pro-Life bills passed by the Alabama House Health Committee. (HB 489, HB 490, HB 493, HB 494) said, “These bills demoralize and dehumanize women and turns them into hostages. By hostages I mean they need and want healthcare, but they can’t get it unless they meet a career politician’s criteria. What exactly gives a politician the right to decide what a woman needs or doesn’t need or what procedures she can and can’t have?”
Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast, Nikema Williams said, “At a time when Alabamians suffer from some of the worst health outcomes in the country, legislators should be finding ways to increase access to health care, not restrict it. Let’s be clear: the lawmakers who voted to pass these anti-woman laws are more concerned with driving their own political agenda rather than looking out for the welfare of their constituents. Passage of these laws show that many elected officials are completely out of touch with their constituents on this issue.”
Watson concluded, “I’ve said it once and I will say it again: these bills are a shameful attempt to make good on the politicians’ running platforms and garner votes in the upcoming election at a woman’s expense.”
Williams said, “Health care decisions as deeply personal and often complex as if and when to end a pregnancy should be made by a woman, in consultation with her family, her faith, and her doctor — not politicians.”
Since the controversial Roe versus Wade decision by unelected Supreme Court Justices in 1973, an estimated 51 million American children have been killed by American doctors in the womb.
