Abortion ban: Alabama doctor vows to keep providing abortions even after ban comes into effect
Amidst outrage over Alabama's near-blanket ban on abortions, a doctor from the state has vowed to continue providing abortions even after the controversial law goes into effect.
The medical director of the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, Dr. Yashica Robinson, said she "will not change" her daily routine when the ban is enforced in six months. The legislation bans abortions in nearly all cases, including rape and incest.
The Alabama Human Life Protection Act which was signed into law by the Alabama Governor Kay Ivey also aims to punish doctors providing abortions procedures to women, and they could face up to 99 years in prison.
“Just as I have for the last 15 years of my medical career, I will continue to deliver babies, give prenatal care — and provide abortions,” Robinson wrote in an op-ed on CNN.
The health practitioner added that she is enraged with the bill which forces her and other doctors to "choose between what is ethically and medically appropriate care and breaking the law.”
“I am appalled that I could get a more severe penalty (up to 99 years in prison) for providing safe abortion care than someone who commits second-degree rape,” Robinson said in her piece.
“And I hate that I am being placed in the position of reassuring my patients that abortion is still legal today — and for the foreseeable future — despite the actions of politicians in Birmingham," she added.
Robinson said that the ban could have multiple adverse affects, including the possibility of OB-GYNs to choose to practice in other states, which will ultimately leave vulnerable women in the state with inadequate healthcare, leading to unsafe and life-threatening practices.
“I am frightened for Alabamians because, should this law ever go into effect, doctors like me will leave Alabama rather than stay and practice substandard medicine,” the doctor said.
Alabama's stringent anti-abortion law has sparked protests across the country, with Democratic presidential candidates and other influential personalities speaking against the legislation and urging people to generously donate to abortion-rights group in Alabama.