If the Alabama legislature gets its way .abortion will soon become illegal there A doctor convicted of performing anabortion could be sentenced to up to 99 years in prison . With no exemptions incases of rape or incest , this would be the most restrictive such law in the country.

But other states with Republican-controlled legislatures have passed " heartbeat " laws that are almost as absolute - they barabortion from 6 weeks , at which point many women do not yet realise they are pregnent.

In the abortion arguago drove each other to extremes . The prolife , fundamentalist view behind the Alabama bill is that a fertilised eaa is nodifferent from a person , and thus shouldenjoy the same legal rights . Accept that , andwhat right does a woman have to take amorning-after pill , or to end a pregnancyafter a rape ? The pro-choice extreme is thatany restriction on abortion is anunacceptable attempt by government tocontrol women's bodies With debategridlocked , the focus is on the courts.

The latest abortion bills ar twothings : preventing women from making achoice that is properly theirs , and getting achallenge to Roe to the Supreme Courtwhere , campaigners hope , they can smokeout the new conservative majority.

Were Alabama's law to come into force . theprice would be paid by women too poor orbrowbeaten to travel to where abortions arelegal . Some of them will end up attemptingto perform abortions themselves , with drink ,drugs or worse.