Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Democratic Alabama State Senator Absolutely Lays Into Republican Abortion Bill Sponsor In Viral Video

Democratic Alabama State Senator Absolutely Lays Into Republican Abortion Bill Sponsor In Viral Video
@CNN/Twitter and @patmorita/Twitter

The very likely unconstitutional House Bill 314 was met with major opposition on the Alabama Senate floor when Democratic Senator Vivian Davis Figures confronted her Republican colleague and bill sponsor Senator Clyde Chambliss.


HB 314 bans abortion and makes it a felony offense, including for victims of rape and incest, regardless of age. Doctors performing the procedure could face up to 99 years in prison.

The only exception is if the pregnant woman's life is in imminent danger.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the strictest anti-choice measure into law on Wednesday, after a vote of 25 to 6 in the Alabama Senate.

The bill is one of many nationwide anti-abortion measures aiming to de-legitimize Roe v. Wade – the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that favored a woman's right to choose.

Asked Senator Figures ahead of the vote:

"Do you know what it's like to be raped?"

Chambliss replied:

"No, ma'am, I don't."

She continued tearing into the senator and expressed her grievances toward the legislation's supporters who were coincidentally all white men.

Figures proceeded to school the Alabama Senate floor on the traumatic impact rape has on victims.

"Okay, so that's one of those traumas that a person experiences just like that child experienced."
"To take that choice away from that person who has such a traumatic act committed against them, to have to bring that child into this world, and be reminded of that every single day ― some people can do that ... but some can't. But why would you not want a woman to at least have that exception for such a horrific act?"

Chambliss replied:

"Because I believe that when that unborn child becomes a person, and we need legal guidance on when that is ―"

But before he could continue, Figures interjected by finishing his thought for him and said:

"Not your business."

She was just getting warmed up.

"You don't have to raise that child. You don't have to carry that child, you don't have to provide for that child, you don't have to do anything for that child ― but yet you want to make that decision for that woman that that's what she has to do."

Alabama is now on nobody's tourism list.




Figures, who is one of four women in the Alabama Senate, cannot imagine being tasked with the choice of performing an abortion but believes it is a woman's right to do so.

"I will have to be honest with you: I praise God every day that I was never, ever put in that situation to make that choice. I don't know what choice I would have made. I really don't."
"And that is why I so firmly believe that it should be a woman's choice, that a woman knows what she's up against, she knows what she has to do ― whether she can or cannot provide for that child."

Figures did not sugarcoat her statement when she implied that the male voters were on a power trip.

"You are playing God, in my opinion, because you've already decided what needs to be done. You all don't rule the world. I mean, you may think you do, but you don't."

According to The Huffington Post, all three of her amendments to the bill were rejected. Her first amendment asked for the male voters to cover the state's attorney's fees.

The second was to expand Medicaid eligibility, and the third amendment would make men who've had vasectomies guilty of a class A felony.

"In all of these abortion bills that you all have passed through the years taking away a woman's choice ... was there ever anything in there saying what would happen to the man who impregnated her? Why you all want to control our bodies, I will never, ever know."


Alabama's healthcare is ranked #46 nationwide. The state's prior laws banned abortion after 21.6 weeks of gestation. Women seeking the procedure were required to undergo a 48-hour waiting period and state-mandated counseling.

Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates, told Refinery 29 that the vote was "a dark day for women in Alabama and across this country."

"Banning abortion is bad enough. Imprisoning doctors for providing care goes beyond the brink."
"In the coming days, we will be mounting the fight of our lives — we will take this to court and ensure abortion remains safe and legal. For now, Planned Parenthood's doors are open for the many patients who need access to care."

The unconstitutional law many consider to be "draconian" is expected to be blocked by the courts.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Country Singer Gavin Adcock went on a drunken rant over Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" success.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Country singer rants over Beyoncé album

Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.

Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Dionne Warwick; Tiny Chef
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images; @ToonHive/X

Dionne Warwick Is Ready To Go To War With Nickelodeon Over 'Tiny Chef' Cancellation

You know your campaign against a show's cancellation is achieving widespread attention when you get people like venerated singer Dionne Warwick advocating for you.

Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show was recently cancelled, much to the dismay of its viewers and creators. It was also a genuinely surprising decision, since the show has won an Emmy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman relaxing in sunhat and sunglasses
Photo by Jordan Bauer on Unsplash

People Explain Which 'Small Luxuries' They Can't Live Without

Many of us have committed to being fairly financially frugal and not overspending on silly, unnecessary things.

That is to say, sometimes, it's fun to splurge on something one time to see what it's like to experience that small luxury.

Keep ReadingShow less
two women in emotional distress seated on couch
Ben White on Unsplash

People Who've Experienced Grief Share The Most Tone-Deaf Things They've Heard

Grief, loss, trauma are all part of life. But for most people, the emotions and reactions that go with them are difficult to witness.

So they rely on platitudes to fill any holes in conversation. That's rarely a good idea.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less