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*ACongressional _______
SResearch Service
~Informing the legislative debate since 1914
Fetal Viability and the Alabama Human Life
Protection Act
May 16, 2019
Alabama's governor, Kay Ivey, recently signed the Alabama Human Life Protection Act (AHLPA), a
measure that prohibits the performance or attempted performance of most abortions in the state. The new
law is scheduled to take effect in six months. Unlike other state laws that restrict abortions once a fetus
reaches a specified gestational age, the AHLPA prohibits the procedure for an unborn child in utero at
any stage of development. Gov. Ivey has described the new law as a powerful testament to Alabamians'
deeply held belief that every life is precious. At the same time, however, she acknowledges that the law
may not be enforceable in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence. In fact, federal
appellate courts have invalidated several state laws that attempted to prohibit the procedure prior to fetal
viability, the point in a fetus's development when it is able to live outside the mother's womb, with or
without artificial assistance. In Roe v. Wade, the Court's 1973 abortion decision, viability was identified
as usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks. In light of
Roe and the Court's subsequent abortion decisions, it seems that the AHLPA might have difficulty
surviving a constitutional challenge under existing precedents. Nevertheless, Gov. Ivey and the AHLPA's
sponsors appear to anticipate such a challenge, maintaining that it is time, once again, for the U.S.
Supreme Court to revisit this important matter[l
Alabama Human Life Protection Act
Under the AHLPA, the performance of an abortion is a Class A felony, which carries a prison sentence of
not less than 10 years, but no more than 99 years. The attempted performance of an abortion is a Class C
felony, which carries a prison sentence of not less than one year and one day, but no more than 10 years.
Individuals convicted for violations of the AHLPA may also be subject to fines not to exceed $60,000 for
the performance of an abortion, and not to exceed $15,000 for the attempted performance of an abortion.
The AHLPA includes an exception for abortions when [i]n reasonable medical judgment, the child's
mother has 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. The law indicates that such a condition can include, under specified circumstances, a diagnosed
serious mental illness if there is a reasonable medical determination that the woman will engage in
conduct that could result in her death or the death of the fetus.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
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