Around 400 people took to the streets in the capital city of the southern US state of Alabama on Sunday to rally against the nation's most restrictive bans on abortions in decades.

Women's reproductive rights defenders gathered in Montgomery, as well as in Birmingham, Anniston and Huntsville where hundreds more were estimated to have joined in denouncing the "Alabama Human Life Protection Act," or HB314, which virtually outlaws terminations of pregnancy.

Protesters in Montgomery held up signs reading "her body, her choice" and "we are not ovary-acting."

A woman wearing beige ­underwear that made her look naked had a drawing of her reproductive system attached to her abdomen and a banner reading, "More than an incubator."

Several other women were dressed as characters forced to bear children in the dystopian novel and television series The Handmaid's Tale. 

One of them, who gave her name only as Amanda, accused Alabama's legislators of "trying to imprison women and doctors." "Wearing The Handmaid's Tale outfit is sending a message that you're trying to turn us into slaves, reproductive slaves," the 40-year-old-lawyer told AFP.

Last week, Alabama passed a law that prohibits all abortions - even in cases of incest and rape - unless there is a risk of death for the mother.

While the Alabama measure is seen as particularly draconian, at least 28 US states have introduced more than 300 texts since the start of the year limiting abortion rights, according to activists.