Nearly 700 ALEC Lawmakers Have Voted to Ban Abortion. Is One of Them Yours?

At least 684 state lawmakers affiliated with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have voted to make it illegal for pregnant people across the country to access the right to an abortion, according to a new analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).

These findings build upon an earlier CMD analysis based on an investigation by The Guardian of restrictive laws enacted after last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade — laws that ban abortion at conception or after six weeks. By expanding the analysis to include states where anti-abortion laws had been blocked due to legal challenges at the time of publication and cross-checking with its own tracking of ALEC politicians, CMD identified an additional 210 ALEC-affiliated state lawmakers who have voted to ban abortion, bringing the total number to 684 across 22 states.

ALEC is a pay-to-play bill mill that provides fertile breeding ground for developing relationships between state lawmakers and paying corporate members who vote as equals to create and promote model legislation favorable to corporate interests.

ALEC’s membership list is closely guarded, and although CMD routinely reviews lists of politicians and lobbyists attending ALEC meetings and task force sessions, its compilation of ALEC-affiliated politicians is likely not fully comprehensive.

ALEC’s opposition to reproductive freedom is less overt than its advocacy of environmental deregulation and union busting, which it openly pursues to kowtow to its corporate members. In the past, these members have been pressed to disassociate themselves with ALEC due to the group’s radical positions on guns, voter suppression, and climate denial. By 2021, ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson was openly admitting that its involvement with such controversial issues “hasn’t ended well for ALEC.”

In an attempt to keep its stance on reproductive rights under the radar, ALEC sells anti-abortion groups access to its legislative members and feeds them a steady diet of anti-abortion arguments. In July, its 50th annual meeting opened with a reception sponsored by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which supports a national ban on abortion. 

ALEC also works with spin-off groups that explicitly pursue contentious policies on the social issues it nominally tries to avoid. In 2019, then Arkansas state senator and ALEC member Jason Rapert created the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL), which ​​he describes as “ALEC from a biblical worldview.” The NACL led passage of SB 8 in Texas, the controversial abortion bounty-hunter bill, and crafted it into model legislation that was introduced in a dozen other states.

Even in states where abortion remains legal, ALEC lawmakers have made their intentions clear with bills that attempt to ban the procedure at or before six weeks — or even entirely.

State by State: ALEC Legislators Voting to Ban Abortion

The following breakdown by state includes information on the bill or bills that have curtailed abortion and the total number of ALEC lawmakers who voted in favor of the legislation, along with which of those still actively serve in state legislatures. (Several earlier bills passed with votes from ALEC-affiliated lawmakers who are no longer in office.) You can also use the map to navigate to the below information: select a state and click “Learn More” to be taken to that state’s information. More information on ALEC politicians can be found here.

Alabama 

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 24

Ban status: in effect

There are 18 known ALEC-affiliated lawmakers currently serving in the Alabama legislature, all of whom voted in favor of the state’s HB 314, a 2019 bill that criminalizes abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. An additional six lawmakers who voted for the bill were affiliated with ALEC while they served as state representatives.

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Arkansas

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 34

Ban status: in effect

Of the 29 current state lawmakers in Arkansas known to be affiliated with ALEC, 27 voted in favor of SB 6 (2021), a complete ban on abortion. Another seven ALEC-affiliated lawmakers who are no longer in office voted in favor of the bill. 

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Florida

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 28

Ban status: temporarily enjoined due to legal challenges

All but one of Florida’s 29 current state lawmakers affiliated with ALEC voted in favor of SB 300 (2023), the state’s version of the heartbeat act. Although Governor DeSantis (R) signed the bill into law, it will not take effect unless the state Supreme Court upholds the legality of a 15-week ban (HB 5) passed earlier.

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Georgia

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 36

Ban status: in effect

Of the 36 ALEC-affiliated lawmakers who voted in favor of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, HB 48, in 2019, 26 are still in office. An additional 10 lawmakers who are no longer in office were affiliated with ALEC at the time of the vote.

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Idaho

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 23

Ban status: in effect

There are currently seven known ALEC lawmakers in Idaho, all of whom voted in favor of either one or both of the two laws responsible for banning abortion in the state: SB 1385 (2020), which criminalizes abortion, and an amended heartbeat act, SB 1309 (2022). An additional 16 former lawmakers were affiliated with ALEC when they voted in favor of these bills.

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Indiana

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 27

Ban status: in effect

Thirty-two ALEC-affiliated lawmakers currently serve in the Indiana legislature, 23 of whom voted in favor of SB 1 in 2022, a bill that bans abortion with only limited exceptions. Another four ALEC-affiliated lawmakers voted in favor of the bill but are no longer in office.

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Iowa

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 25

Ban status: in effect

In Iowa, all but one of the 26 known ALEC-affiliated lawmakers voted in favor of the near-total abortion ban HF 732 (2023), which the governor signed in July.

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Kentucky

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 22

Ban status: in effect

In Kentucky, 15 of the currently 22 known ALEC lawmakers voted in favor of HB 148 (2019), the state’s trigger law. An additional seven who are no longer in office also voted for the bill.

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Louisiana

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 30

Ban status: in effect

There are currently 33 known ALEC lawmakers in the state, 24 of whom voted for SB 342, a 2022 bill that amended the state’s 2006 trigger law by increasing criminal penalties for abortion providers. An additional six former lawmakers who were affiliated with ALEC voted for the bill.

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Mississippi

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 69

Ban status: in effect

In Mississippi, the state’s 2007 trigger ban took effect once the Supreme Court overturned Roe. In addition, state lawmakers also passed a six-week ban in 2019 (SB 2116), which, though superseded by the total abortion ban, demonstrates how recently lawmakers have reinforced their commitment to abolishing women’s rights to bodily autonomy. There are currently 74 ALEC lawmakers serving in the Mississippi legislature, 55 of whom voted in favor of the 2019 six-week ban. An additional 14 former lawmakers were ALEC-affiliated when they voted in favor of the legislation. 

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Missouri

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 44

Ban status: in effect

In 2019, 45 ALEC-affiliated lawmakers in Missouri voted for HB 126, a total abortion ban with criminal penalties. Of the 25 known ALEC-affiliated lawmakers currently serving in the state legislature, 21 voted in favor of the bill. An additional 23 lawmakers who are no longer in office were ALEC-affiliated when they voted for the legislation.

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North Dakota

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 22

Bill status: in effect 

In North Dakota, 22 of the 26 known ALEC state lawmakers currently working in the state house voted in favor of SB 2150 (2023), which outlaws abortion except in the case of rape or incest.

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Ohio

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 50

Ban status: temporarily enjoined due to legal challenges

Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” passed in 2019 on the strength of 74 Republican lawmakers, 50 of whom are affiliated with ALEC. In September 2022, a lawsuit blocked the legislation from taking effect. Ohio currently has 28 ALEC state lawmakers, 24 of whom were present and voted for the heartbeat bill in 2019. The remaining 26 ALEC-affiliated legislators who voted in favor of the bill no longer serve in the Ohio legislature.

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Oklahoma

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 27

Ban status: in effect

Of the 23 known ALEC lawmakers currently serving in Oklahoma, 21 voted in favor of SB 612  in 2022, along with six other ALEC-affiliated lawmakers who are no longer in office.

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South Carolina

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 41

Ban status: in effect

There are currently 43 ALEC lawmakers working in the South Carolina legislature, 35 of whom voted for at least one of the two laws that have severely restricted access to abortion in South Carolina: S 0474 (2023) and S 0001 (2021). An additional six ALEC-affiliated lawmakers who voted in favor of these bills are no longer in office.

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South Dakota

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 14

Ban status: in effect

Although South Dakota’s trigger ban was passed in 2005 — and is much older than many of the other pieces of legislation mentioned here — two of the ALEC-affiliated legislators who voted for it are still serving in the statehouse (Rep. Al Novstrup and Sen. Brock Greenfield). In addition, 12 other lawmakers who helped pass the ban were affiliated with ALEC.

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Tennessee

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 33

Ban status: in effect

Three laws have clamped down on abortion in Tennessee: SB 2196 (2020), SB 1257 (2019), and SB 2263 (2020). There are currently 28 ALEC-affiliated lawmakers in Tennessee, 24 of whom voted for one or more of these bills. An additional nine lawmakers who voted in favor of at least one of these bills were affiliated with ALEC when they served in the legislature.

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Texas

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 59

Ban status: in effect

There are currently 58 known ALEC-affiliated (or formerly ALEC-affiliated) state lawmakers in Texas, 47 of whom voted in favor of the state’s highly restrictive SB 8 (2021). In addition, 12 former lawmakers were ALEC-affiliated when they voted for the bill.

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Utah

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 33

Ban status: temporarily enjoined due to a legal challenge  

In Utah, 33 ALEC lawmakers voted in favor of either HB 0467, a law that functionally bans abortion by limiting the procedure to hospital settings, or the state’s trigger ban, SB 174 (2020), or both. Twenty-six of these are current legislators affiliated with ALEC (from the current known total of 27) and an additional seven were affiliated with ALEC while they were lawmakers voting on these bills. In May 2023, a state court blocked implementation of the legislation.

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West Virginia

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 9

Ban status: in effect

Nine of the 10 known ALEC lawmakers in West Virginia’s legislature voted in favor of HB 302 (2022), an anti-abortion bill that allows for only limited exceptions. 

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Wisconsin

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 22

Ban status: currently enjoined, but likely heading to state Supreme Court 

To determine the number of Wisconsin ALEC lawmakers who voted to ban abortion, CMD considered the votes on amendments to SB 70, the state’s 2023–24 budget bill. Democrats in both chambers proposed related amendments (Assembly Amendment 4 and Senate Amendment 11) that would repeal the state’s 1849 abortion ban, which, as amended in 1858, criminalized abortion at any point of gestation. In the Assembly, 14 of the 63 GOP members who voted against the amendment are ALEC members, whereas the numbers in the Senate are eight of the 22 members who voted against it. According to lists compiled by CMD, there are currently 21 known ALEC members in Wisconsin, 20 of whom voted in favor of this anti-abortion legislation. An additional Assembly member, Republican Rep. Travis Tranel, was formerly an ALEC member, and Sen. Knodl, who also voted in favor of upholding the ban, has accepted funding from ALEC.

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Wyoming

Number of ALEC legislators voting to ban abortion: 12

Ban status: temporarily enjoined pending a legal challenge 

Wyoming’s trigger ban passed in 2022 with the votes of 12 ALEC members, four of whom are no longer legislators and eight of whom are still working as elected representatives.

For the most up-to-date information regarding abortion bans, please visit the Center for Reproductive Rights’ website.

Hayden Coss contributed research to this report.