White men – all Republicans – just voted to ban abortion in Alabama
These 25 Republicans – all white men – just voted to ban abortion in Alabama
Alabama’s new law mandating an almost blanket ban on abortion, the strictest in the United States, was passed by this group of exclusively white, male politicians.The Alabama law will disproportionately affect black and poor women, because they are more likely to seek abortions, and less likely to have resources to obtain an abortion out-of-state.Of the 27 Republicans, all white men, that dominate the 35-seat Alabama senate, 25 voted to pass the bill late on Tuesday.This is what the Republican leadership group in the senate looks like, as presented on their caucus’s website: Photograph: alsenaterepublicans.comThese are the remaining 20 members of the Republican caucus who voted to ban abortion:The members of the Republican senate caucus who voted to ban abortion Photograph: alsenaterepublicans.comThere are only four women in the Alabama senate, who are among the eight-strong Democratic party minority in the upper chamber of the state legislature.Two Republicans did not vote.The legislation makes abortion a crime at any stage of pregnancy, with the only exception for a serious threat to the health of the woman.What female state senators had to say about Alabama’s abortion bill – videoAlabama’s legislature is 15.7% women overall, the sixth lowest state in the country, compared to 28.7% of state legislators nationally. The senate has an even lower proportion of women at 11.4%.mapThe Democratic minority leader, Bobby Singleton, took note of the imbalance while objecting to the abortion bill. He said: “You’ve got 27 men over on the other side ready to tell women what they can do with their bodies.”