Anti-abortion zealots can’t wait to make Americans’ lives more miserable
The legislation was passed during a rare one-day special session called by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) for the “sole purpose” of enacting new restrictions on abortion. Reynolds celebrated the bill’s passage in a statement late Tuesday and said she will sign it on Friday. “Justice for the unborn should not be delayed,” she said.
Iowa’s House and Senate passed the legislation alongmostly partisan lines late Tuesday after hours of hearings and sometimes heated protests. It is expected to face legal challenges.
Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
In a statement, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart accused state Republicans of “ignoring the will of their voters” and praised Democratic lawmakers for opposing abortion restrictions “that the majority of Iowans do not support.”
Hundreds of demonstrators packed the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines, some shouting “Bans off our bodies” while others yelled “Abortion is murder.” According to the Des Moines Register, at one point supporters and opponents of the bill had to be separated by a state trooper.
After the legislation cleared House and Senate committees Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers began floor debates that sometimes became contentious. “If they are not ready to have a baby, they shouldn’t have sex. A lot of people need to review their birds and bees,” Republican Rep. Brad Sherman said at point, while Democrats called the bill “disrespectful” and “obscene.”
Once it is signed into law, the bill, which passed 56-34 in the House and 32-17 in the Senate, will add Iowa to the wave of conservative-leaning states — including North Dakota and South Dakota — that have put in place abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last summer. The Iowa restrictions further limit access to the procedure in the Midwest.
“I believe the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time,” Reynolds said last week as she ordered the special session and promised to sign the bill.
After the Supreme Court ruling last year,Reynolds asked a district court to allow a roughly six-week abortion ban that had passed in 2018 but was challenged in court to take effect. After the court declined to do so, she took the request to the Iowa Supreme Court, which deadlocked on the matter earlier this year. After the deadline, Reynolds called for the special session.
During Tuesday’s House debate, some Democrats quoted one of the justices, Thomas Waterman, who called the state’s attempt to revive the 2018 six-week abortion ban “an unprecedented effort to judicially revive a statute that was declared unconstitutional.”
Thelegislation passed Tuesday bans most abortions after fetal cardiac activity has been detected,often around six weeks into a pregnancy. The bill says a provider must perform an abdominal ultrasound on a patient, and if “a fetal heartbeat” is detected, an abortion is prohibited.
The measure includes a few exceptions, such as for rape and incest, provided that the cases are reported to law enforcement. It also includes exceptions for fetal abnormalities that are “incompatible with life” and for medical emergencies in which a pregnant person faces death or serious harm to their health.
Democrats said the legislation would put someone experiencing a miscarriage at risk by forcing doctors to take extra time determining whether they qualify for an abortion. It also sets unrealistic time constraints for someone to report rape or incest to qualify for an abortion exception under the bill, they said.
Before the bill was passed, Democratic state Sen. Janice Weiner said it should not go into effect immediately. The rushed process shows “incredible disrespect” to Iowa doctors who would need time to understand the new rules, she said.
Joy Reid featured an Iowa woman who speaks for most of us who are appalled at this Handmaid’s Tale bullshit: