Lawmakers in Alabama have passed a bill that prohibits abortion clinics to be situated within 2,000 feet of K-8 public schools. This particular ruling is in line with the same restrictions slapped on sexual predators in the U.S. state.
Bill Is Designed To Keep Protesters From Children
Supporters of the bill said it is designed to prevent anti-abortion protesters from being seen or heard by children, ThinkProgress reported. Some lawmakers in Alabama, however, just don't like abortion clinics. The Christian Coalition of Alabama, an anti-abortion advocacy organization, made huge efforts to push the bill into the statehouse.
The ruling will affect one abortion clinic if Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who is also anti-abortion, signs the bill. The Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville will be forced to move or close if the bill becomes law.
It is not just Alabama that devised plans restricting abortion clinics. Kansas lawmakers in 2013 prohibited employees or volunteers at an abortion clinic from working at schools as well. The state also banned abortion clinic workers from teaching about sexuality at schools.
Doctors Criticize Utah Abortion Law
This month, a law in Utah will mandate painkillers to be administered to fetuses prior the abortion procedure. Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed the bill into law in March.
With this ruling, Utah will become the first state to necessitate anesthesia to fetuses at 20 weeks old or more, Mic reported. Abortions that exceeded the 20-week mark, however, are a rare occurrence in the state, with only 17 abortions performed in 2014.
Doctors have criticized Utah's new law, arguing that unnecessary and undefined administration of anesthesia or painkillers can harm the mother of the unborn child, the New York Times wrote. Lawmakers and anti-abortion groups in Utah said they are concerned that fetuses feel pain during abortion procedures. These people claimed that they are fighting for the fetuses' rights, adding that the unborn child is a separate person.
20-Week Old Fetuses Cannot Feel Any Pain
Doctors, however, argued that fetuses' brain and nervous system aren't developed yet at 20 weeks; therefore, they cannot feel any pain. The unborn baby will likely feel pain at the third-trimester stage of pregnancy, or around 27 weeks.
Utah's new abortion law will be put in place on May 10. It exempts some cases like rape, incest and if the fetus has a fatal and irreparable condition. Women who would die or have serious health complications if the fetus isn't aborted are exempted from the law as well.
