By Lee Hedgepeth
Alabama Political Reporter
On Tuesday, the Alabama House of Representative had on its special order agenda, four “pro-life” bills, all of which were hotly contested by State Democrats. The most controversial bill was sponsored by Indian Springs Republican Mary Sue McClurkin, who said in a committee hearing that using a stethoscope may be standard medical procedure to determine a fetal heartbeat, was also in national news earlier this quadrennium after stating that “when a physician removes a baby from a woman, that is the largest organ in her body.”
Our story – and video – of the stethoscope comments and this session’s “pro-life” bills can be seen here.
One Democrat, Representative Alvin Holmes of Montgomery, took some of his time at the lectern to speak on what he sees as hypocrisies among the lawmakers that were present in the chamber, particularly the white ones.
“I hate to say this but, but I’m gonna say it,” Representative Holmes began, then pausing for a few moments, as if questioning whether to continue. Holmes was recently thrust into the spotlight when he said on the House floor that Clarence Thomas is an “Uncle Tom.”
“If you ask the people in here now to raise their hands, those who are against abortion, 99% of all of the white people in here are gonna to raise their hand that they’re against abortion,” he said.
“On the other hand, 99% of the whites that are sitting in here now, if their daughter got pregnant by a black man, they are gonna make her, their daughter, have an abortion. They’re not gonna let her have the baby. You know the truth sometimes hurts.”“You won’t have no little black baby – she got two other white children and now she’s gonna have a little black gonna be runnin’ around there in the living room or in the den with the rest of them. You know that an I know that. You’re not gonna admit it, but you know that and I know that.”
After Representative Holmes finished, the fetal heartbeat bill’s sponsor, Rep. McClurkin responded by saying that she knew a great number of white families who had adopted black children.
“I will bring you a hundred thousand cash dollars tomorrow if you show me a whole bunch of whites that adopting blacks in Alabama, and I’ll go down there and mortgage my house and get it cash in twenty dollar bills and bring it to you in a little briefcase.”
“I wouldn’t want you to mortgage your house,” McClurkin eventually said.
“I’ve got more than one house,” Holmes said; he is a real estate broker.
Stay tuned to everything Alabama politics this legislative session and beyond by liking us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alreporter and following us on Twitter @aprthev
