Updated: May 15, 2019 / 9:42 AM
On Wednesday, the governor of Alabama signed a bill that will ban almost all abortions in the state, even in cases of both incest and rape, leading to a ban that would prevent a woman from terminating her pregnancy legally.
Abortion rights activists in the U.S. have already vowed to fight against the ban and go to court to block the enforcement of the Alabama measure, which is considered one of the strictest anti-abortion law yet enacted to provoke a reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
Governor Kay Ivey, who is a Republican, signed the bill a day after the Republican-controlled state Senate had approved the ban and also rejected a Democratic-backed amendment that would allow abortions for women and young girls who were 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 mentioned in a statement.
Many abortion supporters across the country criticized the passing of the bill and claimed it was part of a Republican-backed assault on the rights of women to control their 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 new Alabama law will not take effect for six months.