The near-total abortion ban passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law this week was a major topic of conversation among students at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
A nonscientific sampling of students found that not only had all of them heard about the ban, but most worried about the new law — fearing its effects on classmates, women statewide and their school. The ban is the strictest one passed anywhere in the 46 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that there is a constitutional right to abortion.
“Even though we knew that this was coming, it’s shocking to me just how restrictive and inhumane it is,” Abba Mellon, the student president of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity at the school, told Yahoo News’ Kayla Jardine.
“This bill is very extreme, and it … affects my viewpoint of living in the state itself,” said senior Melanie Parker. “I’m not planning on living here after I graduate.”
The Alabama Human Life Protection Act makes abortion illegal at every stage of pregnancy, even in cases of incest or rape, unless the mother’s life is in danger. It also makes the penalty for providing an abortion up to 99 years in prison.
Many said that while they consider themselves pro-life, this law goes too far. “I wouldn’t personally have an abortion myself. However, I am not here to judge other people, I’m just here to support people in what they do,” said Ashlynne Rivers, a senior.
Noting that the vote in the Alabama Senate was 25 to 6, with the majority being all white, Republican and male, Rivers added, “As a man, they don’t understand what a woman goes through.”
She predicted that the law “is just going to cause unsafe abortions, because you’re not going to stop it.”
Others speculated that the law would cause prospective students to think twice before matriculating at U of A, where more than half the students are from out of state.
“A lot of people who might have come here might not now,” said Claire Martin, a junior.
Mellon agreed: “In the past few years we’ve been in the spotlight for things that are not good. First with Jeff Sessions, then with Roy Moore, now with this. And it’s really frustrating for me because there’s so much good stuff that’s happening in Alabama.”
AbsentGlare on May 19th, 2019 at 03:13 UTC »
The wickedness of this strategy is shocking. It will only become easier for republicans to hold political power in these states as they purposely make them shittier and shittier, the brain drain will overwhelmingly benefit them.
This is absolutely disgusting.
thefirstandonly on May 19th, 2019 at 01:43 UTC »
It's not just average people who don't want to live there.
Take a look at ANY conservative with money/power and see where they live. Almost universally they live in blue enclaves, blue cities, or blue states. Because the scam is even they know solid red places are typically hellholes in terms of quality of life regarding any pick-your-metric that looks at education, healthcare, economy, disease.
Trump. Lives in New York Hannity. New York Coulter. New York Shapiro. California Alex Jones. Austin, Tx Limbaugh. Palm Beach Florida Michael Savage. Beverly Hills California, Palm Beach Florida Lahren. California Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Nevada David Koch. New York Rebekah Mercer. New York Bill Oreilly. New YorkGlenn Beck vacations in New York to see plays and the opera. Limbaugh plays in golf tournaments with the wealthiest people on planet earth, Hannity's luxury palaces in Vermont and New York, Donald Trump flying to Palm Beach Florida every other week.
Funny how these conservatives with all the resources and access to do and go anything they want, typically reside or spend their time in solid blue places. The only time you'll see them in red areas is when they're selling books or on promotional tours. Think Trump, Hannity or Limbaugh would ever in a million years vacation or move to West Virginia, Alabama, or Kansas?
“We love how great this place is! Buy my new book that tells you how liberals are ruining society!”, the conservative con artists shout to the cheering crowds. Of course they would never live there or even think about having these people as neighbors.
The biggest con is these poor suckers being completely oblivious to how much the people they admire the most utterly fucking loathe and despise them. The coal miners oblivious to reality that they are being used for their political support and money. Trump is wealthy Manhattan elitist, in his brain the coal miner isn't even worthy enough to wipe his fucking ass. But hey, at least the miner is up to date on the latest Glenn Beck book installment, how socialism is destroying America. He may not have a pot to piss in, but at least he's helping prop up Beck financially so that he can take another lavish and exotic vacation in New York City.
The biggest scam of all.
*Edit. Added a few more. Also to the people saying "but Florida and Texas aren't blue", read what I said. Blue enclaves/blue cities/blue states. Austin, Texas is SOLID BLUE and Palm Beach County, Florida is SOLID BLUE. Where does Limbaugh live? Trump vacation? Palm Beach Florida. Where was Roger Stone living when he was arrested by FBI agents? SOLID BLUE Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Florida. Where was Steve Bannon living when he was domestically beating the shit out of his wife? Miami Dade Florida, residence split with New York.
migidymike on May 19th, 2019 at 01:12 UTC »
Don't do business with Alabama, don't spend tourist dollars there, and if you're female then leave the state. If you stay, vote the GOP out. Without money or a place to park their dick, the GOP will be left with no choice on the matter.