MONTGOMERY — Alabama lawmakers are poised to take up controversial legislation including restricting abortion, transgender procedures for children, voting rights and critical race theory when they convene Jan. 11. 

Currently, Alabama doesn’t allow abortions at or after 22 weeks. In 2019, a law signed by Gov. Kay Ivey seeking a total abortion ban was blocked from taking effect by a federal judge.

Republican State Rep. Jamie Kiel and more than 20 Republican co-sponsors are now looking to mirror new abortion laws in Texas, which ban abortions after six weeks and allows private citizens to sue any person who performs or aids in an abortion.

The bill, HB 23, would prohibit doctors from performing an abortion if a heartbeat is detected — typically at six weeks, according to some studies —  and allow private citizens to sue those who perform or aid in an abortion for no less than $10,000.

Civil and women rights groups, such as the ACLU, have spoken against that bill and others that aim to limit the amount of time a woman can get an abortion. 

“Alabama legislators have filed a bill that bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and pits neighbor against neighbor in an illegal bounty-hunting scheme. HB 23 mirrors the anti-abortion legislation that most recently passed in Texas, even though their abortion ban is deeply unpopular and blatantly unconstitutional,” said ACLU of Alabama reproductive rights staff attorney Kaitlin Welborn. “What we’re seeing is a hostile minority forcing their values and policies upon the rest of the state, including patients who are trying to access the basic health care they need.” 

State legislators will also take another look at banning gender affirming services for transgender youth, after successfully approving a bill in 2021 that prohibits transgender youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.

Alabama senators approved a bill in March that would prohibit the performance of a medical procedure or issuing prescription medication to a minor that would alter the appearance of the minor child’s gender or delay puberty. The bill did not get a vote in the House before the end of the session. 

Sen. Shay Shelnutt has filled the bill again — SB 5, or the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act — looking to make performing any such service a Class C felony in the state. 

The bill indicates “lack of rigorous studies showing their long-term safety and positive benefits,” arguing that the procedure(s) may result in grave and irreversible consequences to the minor’s physical and mental health.

Several bills have been dropped that would ban public schools and colleges from teaching certain concepts regarding race and sex, such as critical race theory — a concept that suggests systemic racism is part of American society and is embedded in laws, policies and institutions that lead to racial inequalities. 

Bills sponsored by Republican representatives Chris Pringle and Arnold Mooney reference the teachings as “divisive concepts”  that could lead to race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating. 

Voting and election reform also continue to be hot topics in many states as federal lawmakers continue to push for a baseline in uniform election laws, following several states’ enactment of laws last year deemed by Democrats to be more restrictive for voters. 

Democrat Alabama Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison dropped a bill that would eliminate the requirement for someone who is pardoned or released from incarceration to apply the Board of Pardons and Paroles to obtain voter eligibility. The board would automatically determine whether an individual may receive a Certificate of Eligibility to Register after verifying that he or she is in compliance with any approved payment plan for the payment of fines, court costs and fees, or an approved community service plan that was affiliated with sentencing.