Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) gave the perfect response Wednesday to a CBS reporter concerned about the financial burden of protecting preborn children from abortion.
On the same day she signed into law the nation’s strongest pro-life legislation, Ivey fielded this question from journalist Jericka Duncan: “Where is the money coming from to support people who aren’t ready to be mothers or aren’t financially stable to take care of a child?”
“You simply cannot defer protecting the lives of unborn children because of costs,” the governor quickly replied.
On Tuesday, the Alabama state Senate passed the Human Life Protection Act by an overwhelming vote of 25-6. The legislation, which Ivey signed Wednesday, makes it a felony for a doctor to perform or attempt an abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
By not allowing for exceptions in cases of rape and incest, the Alabama bill became one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country.
Ivey signed the bill into law, noting in her statement “every life is a sacred gift from God.” She also called the legislation “a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious.”
The Alabama legislation is part of a bigger move, one pro-lifers are hoping will trigger a showdown in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans believe bills like the one in Alabama need to be strict enough to challenge the precedent established by the high court’s 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade, which gave nationwide legal protection for abortion.
Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R), one of the pro-life law’s sponsors, even admitted the bill’s “purpose is to hopefully get to the Supreme Court and have them revisit the actual decision” about the personhood of a preborn infant.
“We believe technology and science shows that it is [a human life],” Collins explained. “You can see that baby tissue develop all the way through now.”