Montgomery, AL – People on both sides of the debate over abortion are trying to determine what the effect will be of a bill that passed the Legislature last week that would ban abortions at 20 weeks into a pregnancy and later.
The owner of a Birmingham abortion clinic said most clinics in Alabama do not currently perform abortions at 20 weeks and the effect would be minimal. But others say the main effect may be provisions that require clinics to provide extensive reports on the number and types of abortions being performed.
Gov. Robert Bentley's staff is studying the bill, but the governor has not decided whether he will sign it.
With the governor's signature, Alabama would become the sixth state to ban abortions at 20 weeks.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)