SB9 Alabama 2016 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Gerald H. Allen Senator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2016

Title

Fetal Heartbeat Act, prohibits physician from performing abortion without first determining fetal heartbeat, physician who does not make determination or who performs abortion when heartbeat detected is guilty of Class C felony

Description

This bill would make it unlawful for a physician to perform an abortion on a pregnant woman after a heartbeat has been detected from the unborn child in accordance with the applicable standards of medical care for determining heartbeats of unborn children. This bill would further require a physician to check for a detectable heartbeat prior to performing an abortion.

This bill provides for the definition of abortion for the purposes of this bill, as well as certain types of exceptions.

This bill also requires written documentation of the procedure used to determine the existence, if any, of a detectable heartbeat in an unborn child and the results thereof.

This bill would provide criminal penalties.

Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose.

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment.

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Subjects

Abortion