The bill bans all abortions, with minor exceptions, as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, before a normal heart has formed
The Iowa House of Representatives in the US adopted yesterday, during an emergency session, a bill that prohibits abortions as soon as a heartbeat is detected in the fetus, around the sixth week of pregnancy.
The bill is expected to be signed by the state’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, who called the special session of the legislature after the Iowa Supreme Court on June 16 blocked the implementation of a similar measure adopted in 2018.
The bill was approved yesterday by 32 votes to 17, with senators voting based on party affiliation, as pro-abortion protesters gathered outside the local Capitol.
The bill bans all abortions, with few exceptions, as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, before a normal heart has formed. It does not provide for exceptions due to the age of the pregnant woman or her mental state.
Before the final vote, Democrats tried in vain to get some changes adopted. Timmy Brown-Powers suggested including exceptions for cases where the pregnant woman is 12 years old or younger.
“For God’s sake, this is child abuse,” he said. “We’re sitting here debating a bill to save babies, but we’re still going to let a 12-year-old, an 11-year-old, a 10-year-old girl go through this?” she asked.
Shannon Lundgren, a Republican, countered that the bill would allow abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy in some medical emergencies and was able to convince her colleagues to reject the amendment pushed by Democrats.
Abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy will be permitted in cases of rape, incest, malformation of the fetus due to which the doctor estimates that it will not survive and in the event that the continuation of the pregnancy will cause irreversible damage to the woman’s health.
Implementation of a similar bill in Iowa in 2018 was suspended after a court ruling because the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and other provisions in the state constitution that protected women’s right to abortion, which have now been overturned, remained in effect. .
Since the US Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision last June, fourteen states have banned abortion in most cases.
Source :Skai
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