Seven abortion-related bills have been filed in the Iowa Legislature this session; six of them are horrible, and one should pass. But I am so far behind that I cannot possibly write seven separate articles. Instead, this post will include a short summary of each bill with links to the file online and contact info of the sponsors. I expect several of the worst will pass both houses and be signed into law by Governor Reynolds. The GOP controls both houses of the legislature and the Governor. They can do whatever they want. And right now, they want to pander to their base: evangelical Christian voters who hate abortion.
First up: Senate Joint Resolution 2001: This is the proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution stating that Iowa does not secure or protect a right to or require the funding of abortion. The Iowa Senate has already passed the resolution along party lines. The House will almost certainly vote in favor as well. To become law, two consecutive General Assembles must approve it and then go to a statewide vote in a general election. That could happen as early as 2022 so there is time to stop this. It all depends on whether Democrats can take control of at least one side of the Statehouse in November.
House File 2390, filed by the Committee on Human Resources: This bill is about emergency care policy and procedures for ambulatory surgical centers. This underhanded bill doesn’t even mention the word “abortion,” but it is one of the worst filed so far. Among other things, it would require prearranged written agreements with both an ambulance service and a local hospital transporting patients who need emergency services at an ER. No hospital in Iowa would sign that agreement. No Ambulance service in Iowa would sign that agreement. If this bill passes, it would effectively put every abortion provider in the state out of business.
House Study Bill 678, filed by the Committee on Human Resources.This bill would require all abortion facilities in Iowa to file for an annual license for a fee of $2000, and undergo annual inspections by the Department of Inspections and Appeals. In other words, this is a TRAP law (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) designed to impose unneseccessary, costly rules on abortion facilities that don’t apply to any other outpatient surgery centers.
House File 2352, by Jacobson: This bill would allow for a parent, court-appointed guardian, or conservator to seek damages for personal injury to a viable fetus. It also grants the fetus due process and equal protection of the law separately from the mother. I don’t necessarily oppose the spirit of this bill. Women should be able to sue for damages a person who injures her fetus. But I think this bill would make it easier to sue abortion providers. If a woman has an abortion, then changes her mind sometime later, she could sue the abortion provider and win, even if she wanted it at the time and the doctor performed it without complications. Standard caveat: I am not a lawyer so I could be wrong about this bill. If anyone out there with relevant legal expertise would like to weigh in on this, I would love to hear from you.
Jon Jacobson (R), Pottawattomie County
House file 2316 filed by Jon Thorup: This bill claims to be about informed consent for medication abortions. It would require a large sign to be conspicuously posted in every abortion facility stating that it may be possible to reverse the effects of a medication abortion involving abortion-inducing drugs. This is a lie. No proper, double-blind, peer-reviewed studies of abortion reversals have ever been published in any reputable medical journal. No medical schools teach how to do them, and no abortion providers offer to perform them. Science does not support abortion reversals. Period.
Senate File 2215, filed by Brad Zaun: I have previously written about this bill. Iowa law currently requires all women seeking an abortion to have a costly, unnecessary, invasive ultrasound 72 hours prior to the procedure. Women can choose to listen to the fetal heartbeat and the doctor’s description of the images if they want to. This bill “fixes” the law by FORCING women to listen to the fetal heartbeat and the doctor’s description of the images. But it isn’t all bad. Brad Zaun’s bill graciously allows women to avert their eyes from the screen and stick fingers in their ears to muffle the sound.
Senate File 2033 filed by Janet Peterson, Liz Mathis, Jackie Smith, Zach Wahls, Tony Bisignano, Jim Lykam, Eric Giddons, Herman Quirmbach, Joe Bolkcom, Amanda Ragan, Claire, Celsi, William Dotzler, Robert Hogg, Nate Boulton, and Todd Taylor. This bill seeks to reverse the disastrous 2017 law that blocked Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa from accessing federal grants that pay for family planning services and education. It is the only abortion-related bill filed so far this year that would actually reduce the number of unwanted children born — and therefore the number of abortions performed in Iowa. This approach is science-based and proven to work. But it probably won’t get a single Republican vote and will likely die in committee.
If these bills upset you, if you value women’s rights and their ability to make their own decisions about their health and lives, please contact your state senators and representatives. Call them, email them, write to them. Tell them to oppose every one of these bills except the last. Do it now. Do it tomorrow. Do it next week. Talk to them until they fear for their jobs in their next election.