Iowa’s “Heartbeat Law” was in court again Friday, August. 17, as Rebecca Kiessling’s pro-life group, Save the 1, sought to intervene in the pending lawsuit against the statute.
The Heartbeat law, currently under temporary injunction, would ban abortions in the state of Iowa if the unborn child’s heartbeat can be detected.
Save the 1 is challenging the law’s exceptions, which still permit abortion in the cases of a child conceived in rape or incest, or a child suffering developmental abnormalities deemed “incompatible with life.” Save the One claims such exceptions clauses violate “equal protection under the law,” protecting some babies while allowing others classes of unborn children to be aborted.
The FAMiLY LEADER prepared a statement in conjunction with Iowa’s Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders on Save the One’s intervention:
“We appreciate the sentiments of the Save the 1 organization, and we too seek a day when all unborn children are protected, regardless of their health or how they are conceived,” the statement reads.
“We believe the passage of the Heartbeat Law is elevating the public discussion to a place from which there is no going back, and hastens the day when all unborn children are protected. For we know the child in her mother’s womb, regardless of physical disability or how she was conceived – she’s a baby.
“So we will support the efforts of the Thomas More Society to defend the Heartbeat Law, and we will continue to work until all life in the womb is treasured and protected.”
Judge Michael Huppert heard arguments on Friday as to whether Save the 1 should be allowed to intervene in the case or not. His ruling on the intervention question will not be announced until at least Friday, Aug. 24, while attorneys are preparing responses to some of Save the 1’s most recent filings.
