Iowa law currently requires all women seeking an abortion to have an unnecessary, invasive, ultrasound. The woman must certify to the abortion provider that she had the ultrasound 72 hours prior and that she had the opportunity to see the images and hear the fetal heartbeat. Clearly this is a horrible, vindictive law with a host of problems.

Republican State Senator Brad Zaun from Polk County, looked at the flaws in this statute and decided to fix it with Senate File 2215. Women seeking an abortion shouldn’t be offered an opportunity to listen to the heartbeat and the doctor’s detailed description of the fetus.

No, indeed.

They should be given an unnecessary, invasive ultrasound 72 hours prior and FORCED to listen to the doctor’s detailed description of the fetus, its external digits, internal organs if visible, and its heartbeat.

Brad Zaun’s bill does allow the woman to turn down the volume and avert her eyes if she wants to. He isn’t totally cruel and heartless.

Just when you think an anti-choice law can’t possibly get any worse, our evangelical Christian legislators find a way. Brad Zaun, at least, will stop at nothing to force more women to give birth to unwanted children against their will.

The GOP controls both houses of the state legislature and the governor so the odds are good that this will pass. But they do sometimes listen of enough people call and complain.

Please contact your state senators and representatives and tell them to oppose this bill. Senator Zaun lives in District 20. I will include his contact info below.

By Robert Cook

Activism Chair, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers