The measure arrived in the senate after passing a vote in the house by a margin of 74-3. Some politicians have said they are hesitant to support the bill, as there is no exception for abortion in cases of rape or incest.
State Rep. Terri Collins (R), the bill's sponsor, said of the measure that it "says that baby in the womb is a person."
Unlike other state bills, which ban abortion at a certain point of a pregnancy--such as the detection of a heartbeat or at the 20-week mark of a pregnancy-- the Alabama bill would outlaw abortion entirely. Doctors who perform abortion would be charged with a Class A felony and could face between 10 years and life in prison.
As a result of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, abortion is considered to be a constitutional right through the point of fetal viability; about the 22nd week of a pregnacy. Laws that restrict abortion prior to this point are generally found to be unconstituional.
Supporters of the Human Life Protection Act hope that any subsequent legal challenge to the law could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which could revisit the Roe decision.
The Supreme Court has been reluctant in years past to consider laws that would influence abortion policy in the United States, but there are several pending cases that could be considered in the upcoming future.
In addition to the aforementioned laws banning dilation and extraction abortions, an Indiana law that banned abortion based off of sex, race, or disability has also been overturned by lower courts, and laws in four states have banned abortion prior to the 20th week of pregnancy.
It is unclear as of now if the court will consider any of these cases.
Meanwhile in Georgia, state lawmakers say they are unconcerned about the effects of a planned "boycott" of the state by the entertainment industry. Georgia, which recently outlawed abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, was threatened with boycotts from actors and producers. So far, only three production companies have announced they will not be filming in Georgia.
None of the three had previously filmed in the state.