HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Alabama Constitution was amended in 2018 to declare state public policy is to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life.

A newly elected Huntsville-area legislator is moving to ensure low-income pregnant women have ready access to health care.

In her first bill since being elected in March, Alabama House District 10 Rep. Marilyn Lands wants to improve prenatal care through faster Medicaid access.

“The situation is, they found out they’re pregnant, they try to get in to see a doctor but they don’t have insurance,” Lands said. “So this presumes that women are eligible from the beginning after they prove proof of pregnancy and they meet the income requirements.”

A single first-time mother earning less than $1,833 monthly is Medicaid-eligible, for a two-person household the income cap is $2,487. Lands said the sign-up process takes too long for pregnant women and her bill would change that.

“Right now they’re having to wait 45 to 60 days,” she said. “And so this means they get in earlier, get to start prenatal care. Under the existing conditions, women often don’t get that first visit until they’re in their second trimester and that is not acceptable, that is not best practice.”

Lands said the bill has drawn bipartisan support and co-sponsors.

“I think we all want to see better maternal outcomes and we want to reduce the number of infant mortalities we have in this state,” she said.

The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show Alabama had the third-worst infant mortality rate in the country in 2021, with a death rate of  7.56 percent per 1,000 live births. There was a slight improvement in 2022, with a mortality rate of 6.69 percent, per 1,000 live births.

“This will go a long way to being able to get women into good care as quickly as we can,” Lands said. And also it will reduce costs because we will not have as many premature babies,  as many NICU stays. It’ll just be all-around better for mothers’ and babies health.

Lands said she filed the bill Tuesday, which still makes it eligible for consideration in this year’s legislative session. With just a few formal meeting days left – she said it’s a long shot for passage in 2024, but she likes the bill’s chances for 2025.