The abortion giant Planned Parenthood is misleading Alabama voters about a November ballot measure to amend the state constitution.
Alliance for a Pro-Life Alabama released a fact sheet this week with details about Amendment 2 and Planned Parenthood’s misleading claims, according to Yellow Hammer News.
The proposed constitutional amendment will ask voters to “affirm that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, most importantly the right to life in all manners and measures appropriate and lawful.” The amendment also will guarantee that “the constitution of this state does not protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Planned Parenthood claims the amendment could jeopardize women’s lives and punish women who have miscarriages or undergo fertility treatments. But these claims are not true, according to the pro-life alliance.
Its new fact sheet refutes abortion activists’ lies, point by point.
First, Planned Parenthood claims the amendment would outlaw abortions even when a woman’s life is in danger. According to the alliance, this is “completely false.”
“The Pro-Life Amendment simply declares Alabama’s public policy to be one that favors protecting unborn life. It also clarifies that there is no right to abortion in our state’s constitution, nor are state funds required to pay for abortions,” the group responded.
Second, abortion activists claim the amendment would not protect women from criminal liability for ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages or stillbirths. This also is false. The amendment would “in no way impact” or punish mothers who are suffering from any of these tragedies, the pro-life group said.
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Third, Planned Parenthood claims the amendment could criminalize fertility treatments – another talking point that the alliance said is untrue.
“These areas of important concern for women and families are already protected under existing state law,” according to the alliance. “Amendment 2 does not change that.”
The pro-life group also pointed voters to an explanation of the amendment by the Alabama Fair Ballot Commission. The commission is a non-partisan group created by the legislature to explain ballot initiatives to voters in simple terms.
“The proposed amendment does not identify any specific actions or activities as unlawful,” the commission explained. “It expresses a public policy that supports broad protections for the rights of unborn children as long as the protections are lawful.”
State Rep. Matt Fridy previously said he had the future in mind when he proposed the pro-life amendment, according to the local news. He said he was thinking about Tennessee where the state Supreme Court ruled that a woman has a “right” to abortion under the state constitution.
That ruling made it nearly impossible for Tennessee lawmakers to pass even moderate abortion regulations, such as parental consent for minors or a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions. To fix the problem, in 2014, Tennessee voters approved a ballot measure to amend their constitution to make it clear there is no right to abortion.
Fridy said he wants to prevent the same potential legal trouble in Alabama.
West Virginia and Oregon voters will decide on similar ballot measures in November.
