Alabama Senate Republicans, a caucus composed entirely of men, tried to pass a vote that would punish almost all abortions with 99-year prison terms without allowing a traditional roll call as requested by Democrats. Republican Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, who was presiding over the Alabama Senate Thursday, swiftly approved a motion to remove a rape and incest exception from a bill to ban abortion in the state on a voice vote. Democrats had requested a roll call vote out of fairness to "both Democratic and Republican women" across the Southern state, as one female Senate Democrat said Thursday amid the chaotic scene. Voice votes do not allow for roll call votes. Shouting and pointing broke out on the Senate floor almost immediately after it became clear Republicans were looking to cut corners and move the bill forward. The Associated Press reports the vote on the bill has been delayed until next week. "No, no, no, no, no," Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton could be heard yelling on the floor of the Assembly as chaos erupted. Ainsworth was heard continuing to read off abortion statistics as chaotic banter broke out across the Assembly Thursday. The punitive and strict anti-abortion bill already passed the Alabama House 74-3 in a vote last week. A Senate Democrat who spoke on the floor Thursday conceded the bill is likely to pass regardless, but demanded fairness in how the process is allowed to play out. Under this new legislation, doctors would be charged with a felony for performing or attempting to perform an abortion. Women would not be held liable. A lone exception to the law would still allow women with serious health conditions to undergo the procedure. "Yesterday, Senator Ward and the rest of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from a local rape survivor who literally begged them to vote against this dangerous bill," Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, told ABC News in a statement about the Alabama bill. "I hope they take this opportunity to think critically about what this bill means for the women of this state and why women and doctors should be making these personal, private health care decisions—not politicians," she added. "We can come back in here on Tuesday and have extended debate and make that final decision," said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, an Anniston Republican who weighed in once the verbal shouting matches ended. One of the only four women Alabama senators, all of whom are Democrats, said on the Senate floor Thursday: "My point of order is...to be voted on along a roll call vote. I just want to bring this back. I know you all support this bill. I know this bill is going to pass, you're going to get your way, but at least treat us fairly and do it the right way. That's all that my Democratic colleagues ask. That's all that women in this state ask. Both Democratic and Republican women." During last week's House vote, Democrat John Rogers stirred controversy after he offered a defense of abortion practices: "You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, and you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later."<doc-sep>Marsh asked the women to keep praying for him as he navigates a contentious fight that could put Alabama on the leading edge of the antiabortion push to get a state law in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. He, like many other Republicans here, has long been against abortion and wants the court to overturn Roe v. Wade — and he embraces the strategy of a bill that will force the issue. But he also long has been accepting of three exceptions to bans on abortion: cases that involve rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.<doc-sep>Alabama senators got into a shouting match Thursday after Republicans suddenly stripped exceptions for rape and incest from a near-total ban on abortion in the state without allowing a roll call vote. Democrats acknowledged that Republicans had the votes to strip the exceptions, but after angrily denouncing the sudden move, a full vote that had been planned for Thursday was rescheduled to next week. "I didn't even hear the motion even come out of the senator's mouth before the lieutenant governor started gaveling it through," Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Democrat, told reporters at a press conference. "He rushed it before the man even get the motion out his mouth." Alabama senators were expected to vote on HB 314, a bill that would make it a felony for a doctor to perform or attempt an abortion, unless a woman's health was at "serious" risk. Otherwise, they could face up to 99 years in prison. Before the amendment was hurriedly approved Thursday, the only other instances when an abortion could be done would have been when pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. In a statement released Thursday, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth brushed aside criticism that he rushed the motion through and stressed that the bill would not only have an impact in Alabama, but it was intended to tackle the issue of abortion on a national scale by overturning Roe v. Wade. "Abortion is murder," Alabama's lieutenant governor said in a statement. "Now that President Donald Trump has supercharged the effort to remake the federal court system by appointing conservative jurists who will strictly interpret the Constitution, I feel confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe and finally correct its 46-year-old mistake." Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has not commented publicly on the bill, but is expected to support it. With Democrats holding only eight seats in the Senate, the bill is expected to easily pass. Even so, the Senate ground to a halt Thursday when Republican Sen. Clyde Chambliss moved to table the rape and incest amendments, a committee amendment that under the rules of the legislature is not debatable. Three senators are required to raise their hands to spark a roll call vote, meaning each member of the legislature would cast a vote on the exceptions. However, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth quickly gaveled through the motion, prompting Singleton to raise his hand and object. "Heck no!" Singleton yelled as he hit the lectern with his hand. "He did not make a motion! He did not make a motion!" "He made a motion to table," Ainsworth responded.<doc-sep>Vivian Figures laments ’27 white male Republicans’ in the Alabama Senate During a Friday morning appearance on MSNBC, Alabama State Sen. Vivian Figures (D-Mobile) shared her thoughts on the “chaos” surrounding the bill to ban abortion in the Yellowhammer state while lamenting the “white male Republicans” serving in the Alabama Senate. “Our Senate is made up of 27 white male Republicans and eight Democrats, of which four of those are four African-American women. So yes, they’re going to get their way,” Figures stated. “What they did on yesterday was not a surprise. It’s happened before.” Figures also explained that she feels Senate Republicans in Alabama force their agenda on the Senate Democrats. “Although they have the numbers to do what they want to do, they always feel the need to force and cram something down our throats,” Figures said. “Of course I went to the microphone to let the lieutenant governor know that we had made the request,” Figures explained. “Senator Singleton had asked very very politely, if you will, he had asked and was very clear about saying every vote we would take on this bill, we want a long roll call vote. In the past that’s been honored. Of course, the Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth is a new lieutenant governor presiding over the Senate.” Watch: Figures was also asked to share her thoughts on whether she believed Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey would sign the bill, should it be passed. “The way it’s been going in Alabama since we received a supermajority Republican administration and legislature, whatever the Republican agenda is, everybody else falls in line to do what needs to be done,” Figures told MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson. ” That’s why they called for a voice vote on stripping that amendment from the bill, because some of their own members do not feel comfortable with not having that amendment about rape and incest to be a part of the exception in that bill.” Figures added, “I have no doubt that she might sign it.” Jackson also questioned Figures on how to “stop” strict abortion bills from reaching the Supreme Court. “I’m not sure that we can stop it with the numbers,” Figures responded. “When you have the votes, you have the votes. One way we can stop this down the line is to make sure that we get people out to vote and elect more Democrats across this country.” “This is clearly Republican agenda. It’s a hot button issue that they use for politics to get them elected and reelected,” Figures claimed. “It’s a shame because the state of Alabama doesn’t even have enough money to adequately fund public education.” After the loss of a procedural vote, Democrats in the Alabama Senate resulted to shouting at the chair, which resulted in a delay of the vote. The bill, which was passed by the House last week, would have only banned all abortion except when the life of the mother is in danger. Kyle Morris also contributes daily to Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @RealKyleMorris.<doc-sep>
This image was removed due to legal reasons. Days after Georgia passed one of the most strict de facto abortion bans in the country, Alabama’s Republicans are following in hot pursuit, trying to pass a bill virtually banning abortion entirely. On Thursday, their attempts to make the bill even more restrictive than it already was caused an uproar on the Senate floor. The bill, passed in Alabama’s House of Representatives last week, effectively bans abortion altogether with the exception of pregnancies that threaten the life of the mother. ( Under the bill, performing abortions would be a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison.) The State S enate Judiciary Committee added an additional exception for pregnancies stemming from rape or incest on Wednesday, but then the Senate dropped that amendment on Thursday. That’s where things got heated. Alabama Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton vocally objected to the amendment’s removal, expressing his dissent as Senate P resident and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth pushed the change through on a seconds-long voice vote, when Singleton had previously asked for a roll call vote. “He did not make a motion!” Singleton shouted over and over again. “I know you all are for this bill, and I know this bill is going to pass. You’re going to get your way. But at least treat us fairly and do it the right way, that’s all that I ask, that’s all that my Democratic colleagues ask. That’s all that women in this state ask, both Democratic and Republican women,” Democratic Sen. Vivian Davis Figures said, taking the podium after Singleton. All of Alabama’s Senate Republicans, by the way, are men. The Senate has delayed the full vote on the bill until next week, AL.com reported. Not that the slight delay matters—it’s all just another effort for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.