An Iowa congressman is working to pass his “Heartbeat” proposal that would ban abortion nationwide after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.

Steve King proposed the act that may be cited as the “Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017” on Jan. 12 but gave a press conference concerning the proposal Tuesday. The proposal mimics a failed Ohio attempt at banning abortion after six weeks.

David Cordaro, trip coordinator for ISU Students For Life, believes the proposals are another step toward giving a voice to the voiceless.

But Emily Southard, co-president of the Society for the Advancement of Gender Equity (SAGE), believes the bills threaten a woman’s right to control over her body.

“When we look, there’s this whole argument of viability when we’re talking about abortion,” Cordaro said. “The University of Iowa, they just, I think within the past couple of years, had twins that were 20 weeks old that lived.”

The argument Cordaro speaks of is a question of when an unborn child is considered a human life. According to King’s proposal, a fetus is viable when a heartbeat is detected.

Cordaro is against any case of abortion, even in the case of a rape resulting in pregnancy. He argued that the cause of the pregnancy, though challenging, does not affect the value of life that that child has.

“Circumstances don’t determine dignity,” Cordaro said. “The dignity of the woman and the dignity of this child are not defined by the rapist’s actions. If we believe that it’s a human life and it really is her child, then we need to be there to defend the child.”

Southard, who describes herself as radical liberal, believes there is a psychological impact on a woman forced to carry the child of her perpetrator to term.  

Though pro-choice, Southard isn’t for abortion without regulations. She is against late-term pregnancies unless the mother’s life is at risk.

Instead of abortion, Cordaro believes resources should be offered to women to help with their pregnancy.

His organization, Students for Life, is currently working with the Sloss Center to bring the Pregnant on Campus Initiative to Iowa State.

The program would help the young mothers-to-be continue their education. If a pregnant student needed a ride to a doctor’s appointment or help paying for medication or a medical bill, the program would aid them.

“What we really advocate for in the pro-life movement is to help the woman first and to help her overcome what she needs to go through in order to have the child,” Cordaro said. “Along with that goes helping her overcome the other problems that were causing her to want or need an abortion.”

Southard likes the idea of the program and thinks it should be put in place but is against it completely replacing abortion.

“I think absolutely we should be providing that type of funding and that should absolutely be a resource,” she said. “But having that be the only resource is insane because it’s really short-sighted and […] a woman should be able to control their body.”

With Republicans holding majorities in the House of Representatives, Senate and in the White House, Cordano’s views likely will be better represented at the national government level.

President Donald Trump has reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which eliminates federal funding to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform abortions. This is one of the first action he has taken since his inauguration on Friday.

“I am definitely much more than weary,” Southard said. “I would say that I am terrified. “They have so much power right now and […] both sides [aren’t] being represented to the extent that generally there is.”

Though Southard and others from her organization know that the issues were on Trump’s agenda and know of his pro-life stance, they are still discouraged as they watch it happen.

Only a few days have passed since millions of women marched for equal rights in cities around the world before Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy. Southard found this especially disheartening.

“It’s really frustrating that we just had the Women’s March, and [Donald Trump] doesn’t care that there was this huge outpouring of support,” Southard said.

King has openly held strong opposition to abortion throughout his political career. He promoted including prenatal humans into the 14th Amendment, giving them the right to life.

King co-signed the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which would cut “federal funding for abortion clinics,” according to On the Issue. This act excluded cases of rape resulting in pregnancy or pregnancies risking the life of the mother.