The governor has been fighting to reinstate the abortion ban in court.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Iowa state legislature passed a bill banning most abortions after detection of the baby’s heartbeat.
- A heartbeat may be detected as early 6-weeks-gestation.
- The bill was part of a special session convened by the governor for the specific purpose of passing the legislation.
- State Representative Timi Brown-Powers (D) rebuked the bill and instead offered an amendment to allow abortion exceptions for pregnant children, telling Reuters that the bill as it stands is “child abuse.”
- The lawmaker asked, “We’re standing here debating a bill to save babies, but yet we would put a 12-year-old, an 11-year-old, a 10-year-old through this?”
- Republican Iowa Representative Shannon Lundgren said the bill allows abortions after six weeks for medical emergencies, suggesting that the proposed amendment is unnecessary.
- Iowa’s Senate Republican president, Amy Sinclair, shared a similar belief, stating that the bill protects babies, not punishes mothers: “This bill does not hold a woman criminally or civilly liable for having an abortion,” she said.
- Governor Kim Reynolds is expected to sign the bill into law on July 14.
GOVERNOR TO SIGN THE BILL:
- Governor Reynolds said in a statement that the state “once again voted to protect life and end abortion at a heartbeat, with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.”
- “The Iowa Supreme Court questioned whether this legislature would pass the same law they did in 2018, and today they have a clear answer,” the statement continued. “The voices of Iowans and their democratically elected representatives cannot be ignored any longer, and justice for the unborn should not be delayed.”
- The governor explained that as a pro-life state leader, she is “committed to continuing policies to support women in planning for motherhood, promote the importance of fatherhood, and encourage strong families. Our state and country will be stronger because of it.”
BACKGROUND:
- In other U.S. states, abortion bans have resulted in the births of thousands of babies.
- Since “The Texas Heartbeat Act” was enacted in 2021, the state of Texas is estimated to have seen 10,000 fewer abortions from April to December 2022.
- As American Faith reported, Texas recorded 297,088 births during that period.
