MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama committee advanced one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the nation, a measure that would make performing an abortion a felony.

The House Health Committee voted Wednesday to send the bill to the House floor.

Republican Rep. Terri Collins said the goal of her bill is to spark a court case to challenge the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

The bill makes exemptions if a mother’s health is in danger but not if she has been raped.

Democratic Rep. Neil Rafferty said the legal fight over the ban will waste taxpayer dollars at a time when the state has pressing health care needs.

The committee approved the bill after a public hearing in which several women described their past experience with abortion decisions.