A new bill pre-filed by Representative Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, would allow abortions to be performed in cases of rape and incest, and to preserve the health of the mother.
The bill would also require men convicted of rape and incest that led to an abortion undergo a vasectomy or castration. Fathers of unborn children aborted to preserve the health of the mother could be required to cover costs of the procedure, or submit to a vasectomy to waive those responsibilities.
The current law allows for an unborn child to be “delivered prematurely to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.” This bill would change that language to allow the child to be delivered prematurely to “preserve the health of the unborn child’s mother.” This would still not allow for a typical abortion in these cases, but rather a premature delivery of the child.
The amendment entirely removes language further defining what instances constitute a “serious health risk to the mother of an unborn child.”
Under the current law, a serious health risk is defined as a condition “that so complicates her medical condition that it necessitates the termination of her pregnancy to avert her death or to avert serious risk of substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function.” It also allows for an abortion if a psychiatrist determines that the woman is mentally ill to the extent that it is believed “that she will engage in conduct that could result in her death or the death of her unborn child.”
The amendment would also remove a requirement for the two physicians confirming the need for an abortion to be licensed in the state of Alabama. Code has been added to explicitly allow for abortions in the case of rape or incest, although the bill does not lay out any procedure for determining whether the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest.
In the case where a person has been convicted of rape or incest leading to a pregnancy, “the court shall require him to: (i) pay for all medical expenses associated with the resulting pregnancy and abortion; and (ii) undergo either a vasectomy or castration.”
In the case of a woman procuring an abortion to preserve her health, the bill would add new code to allow her to petition the court to require the father to pay all medical expenses associated with the pregnancy and the abortion including, but not limited to, expenses associated with any complications resulting from the pregnancy or abortion.
The father could petition for relief from the court, but must provide proof of undergoing a vasectomy.
