MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure would be illegal under a new bill debated in the Alabama legislature on Wednesday.

The House Health Committee held a public hearing on a bill that supporters say would prohibit a medical procedure called dilation and evacuation, or “D&E.” The bill would allow the procedure, which it describes as “dismemberment abortion,” in the event of a “serious health risk to the mother.”

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a similar bill into law last week, while West Virginia lawmakers overrode their governor’s veto in March to pass a similar law. D&E bans in Kansas and Oklahoma have been struck down by state courts.

Supporters of the bill on Wednesday compared D&E procedures to torture and medieval forms of punishment.

“I don’t see how a civilized society could support these barbaric procedures,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Mack Butler.

Elizabeth Potter Graham, an attorney who spoke against the bill, said it is a woman’s “fundamental right” to choose the procedure.