Late Tuesday evening, the Iowa House passed a bill that would ban abortions in Iowa after an unborn child’s heartbeat can be detected, with some exceptions. The State Senate then burned the midnight oil to reconcile the language between the legislative chambers and complete the bill’s passage.
“This vote represents a remarkable step forward in the defense of human life,” commented Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER. “The heartbeat bill could save thousands of babies every year from the horror of abortion, and its passage today demonstrates that many in our culture recognize that the little girl, with her heart beating in her mother’s womb – she’s a baby.”
Indeed, if the governor were to sign the bill into law, it would have the power to prevent an estimated 3,000 or more abortions in Iowa every year. The final version of the bill, however, also included an amendment that would allow exceptions to the law in the cases of an unborn child conceived in rape or incest and children suffering from fetal abnormalities deemed incompatible with life.
While The FAMiLY LEADER has been a consistent champion of Iowa’s proposed Heartbeat legislation, TFL has also been a consistent opponent of language that deems certain classes of people as “exceptions” who can be legally aborted in the womb.
“This bill doesn’t protect every baby,” Vander Plaats acknowledged, “and we will not stop working until every baby’s life is treasured and protected by law, from the moment of fertilization to natural death.
“Nonetheless we’re grateful today for the hard work of many pro-life champions in the Iowa Legislature,” he continued. “We’re grateful for another state taking a stand against the injustice of Roe v. Wade. And we look forward to the day when life wins and we all recognize that the child in her mother’s womb – she’s a baby.”
