Bill > HB376

This bill, known as the Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, prohibits and punishes individuals who perform a "dismemberment abortion," which is defined as intentionally dismembering a living unborn child by using instruments to cut, crush, or grasp parts of the child's body to remove them from the uterus, with the purpose of causing the child's death. This definition specifically excludes abortions that use suction to dismember the child, but includes situations where suction is used to remove fetal parts after the child has already been dismembered and died. The act allows for an exception if the dismemberment abortion is necessary to prevent a "serious health risk to the unborn child's mother," which is medically defined as a condition that necessitates the abortion to avert the mother's death or serious, irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, excluding psychological or emotional conditions. The bill also clarifies that women upon whom such abortions are performed, or non-physician staff acting under a physician's direction, are not liable, and it outlines who can bring civil lawsuits and what damages can be awarded, while also protecting the identity of the woman involved from public disclosure unless she consents. Violators face fines of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, and the act explicitly states it does not create or recognize a right to abortion or a specific abortion method.