Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to sign a law into effect Friday that bans abortion after six weeks with exceptions in situations of rape or incest, when the woman’s life is at risk or facing permanent injuries and when a fetus has abnormalities “incompatible with life.”
According to a press release from the Governor’s office, Reynolds called a special session of the Iowa General Assembly to “enact pro-life legislation.” On Tuesday evening, the “fetal heartbeat” bill was passed in the House on a vote of 56-34, with two Republican no votes, and just after 11 p.m. the Senate passed the bill on a vote of 32-17 with one Republican voting no.
“Iowans have elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn and, in doing so, they have voted strongly in support of pro-life principles and against the arbitrary destruction of innocent, defenseless lives,” Reynolds stated in the release.
This comes just weeks after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled 3-3 (with one abstention) declining to reinstate a 2018 law that would have banned abortions after six weeks, essentially the same bill passed by the Iowa Legislature. The Court is made up of five appointees from Reynolds and two from former Gov. Terry Brandstad.
During the roll call vote in the Senate several Democrats said “I trust women, I vote no” instead of just stating no. Iowa Democratic Senator Claire Celsi said the war on women has been raging in Iowa for years.
“Each legislative session Republicans are presented concrete choices based on real life situations disproportionately faced by Iowa women,” Celsi stated. “Every year, Republicans fail to deliver solutions.”
Jack J | Jul 12, 2023 at 8:57 am
Straight white male commenting here. The stance of “pro-life” is a misnomer; it is actually a pro-birth position. I’ve been involved in conversations with numerous pro-birth folks. Not one can admit (or effectively argue against) the many nuances that the abortion question raises. Until pro-birth folks can fully acknowledge that taking abortion access away from a woman and her OBGYN poses a threat to human life (that of the woman’s), there is no hope for genuine discussions about pro-life.
Women in Iowa now have fewer rights than a corpse (you can only harvest organs if the deceased has agreed to it before their death). More to the point, a pregnant woman with health complications could die if she is not allowed late-term abortion. You can only call yourself a true pro-lifer if you support legislation that, among other things, supports funding Planned Parenthood. Psst: a little secret your “conservative” news feed won’t tell you is that 90% of the services provided by Planned Parenthood are about sex education, maternal prenatal care, and providing contraception. That’s a heck of a lot more options than a pregnancy crisis center will ever provide.
Chris J | Jul 12, 2023 at 8:45 am
Hilarious. The law says that abortion is banned “after six weeks with exceptions in situations of rape or incest, when the woman’s life is at risk or facing permanent injuries and when a fetus has abnormalities “incompatible with life.” Genuine question here for all you anti-government folks who complained (wrongly) about HIPAA violations regarding mask mandates during the height of the pandemic: Who do you think is going to decide these abortion exceptions?