HAMPTON – Candidate for Iowa Senate Shawn Dietz this weekend said that he believes human life begins at conception.
The abortion issue has always been a hot-button topic, and can ignite strong feelings, especially during campaigns.
But, Dietz wasn’t afraid to publicly declare his stance on where life begins, which gives obvious clues as to legislation he would or would not support, if elected.
“Personhood is the only logical argument to me,” Mr. Dietz said. “What makes a baby at 19 weeks post conception less of a human than one at 20 weeks? It’s about where you define the beginning of life. If not at conception, then where? Heartbeat? Brain activity? Both of those things are happening possibly before a pregnancy is even known. The argument of the past 40+ years where we have wrongfully accepted the notion that a life does not begin until birth has been long since dispelled in the evidence of crying and movement from babies who were victims of failed abortion attempts. I was always pro-life. I became a strong advocate for what I now know as “personhood” when I first learned I was going to be a father because it was at that moment, not birth, when we had another life to care for. That’s my perspective. Anything short of that is still allowing and permitting the death of an innocent human life.”
Dietz went on to say that “The difference [between being simply pro-life and advocating for personhood] “is the traditional pro-life argument leaves open the option for killing the baby. Personhood says that baby becomes a human at the moment of conception, and requires all legal rights and protections as any other human.”
Dietz is a Republican, running against Democratic incumbent Amanda Ragan, generally known as a pro-choice politician, for Senate District 27, covering Franklin, Butler and Cerro Gordo counties. She was elected in 2010 to her third term in the Iowa Senate.
Dietz said that Ragan voted against a bill that would have banned abortion past 20 weeks.
“She also voted many times to use tax payer money to fund Planned Parenthood and abortion services,” he said.
Vote Dietz !!
When Dietz gets elected, will the state be switching to “Life Certificates” instead of “Birth Certificates?”
When Dietz grows a womb I would be happy to listen to his arguments. Until then he should mind his own business. So much for getting government off our backs. He is just another toady on a fool’s errand for the tea party wackos.
If you think that he is on your back and ragan isn’t then you are delirious.
Shawn IS getting off your back….. he is flipping you over and sticking his nose deep within your lady parts.
First of all to say he is just trying to appeal to his base is stupid. Unlike liberals who say anything to get elected he actually believes what he stands for. He will lose more votes than he gets by speaking out against abortion. He is a stand up guy who I believe will make sound financial decisions for the state of Iowa. It’s so stupid to think you can tax your way to prosperity. Look around the world is in a financial mess because the socialist have gotten there way.
Dietz is just trying to appeal to the right-wing base. This issue affects about 1% of the total population or less.. Let’s see where he stands on issues that affect all of us.. They like to divert the attention to big national issues and forget that middle class people are suffering with all the Republican policies on taxes, social security, health care, etc. And, to affect change it happens at the Supreme Court level– so I want to know how Dietz feels about important issues!!
@MaryBeth-You obviously live in a different world than the rest of us.
LVS: I must respectfully disagree. I have not seen one policy that has helped the middle class in the last few years. WE pay thru the nose on taxes and Mitt Romney, Koch Bros, the Bushes, and their ilk pay less of a percentage than we do. They put millions into overseas/island banks and pay no taxes at all!! They don’t want to raise the minimum wage, want to privatize SS, say abortion is wrong- but believe in the death penalty, the list is endless. I was a Barry Goldwater R!!
@maryBeth-what about Sordos, Buffet and all the liberal actors that we see shooting off their mouths. There is plenty of blame all the way around. It is not just Republicans but a lot of Democrats as well. Don’t forget Bahama Bob who thankfully is finally retiring. he is the biggest hypocrite there is. I guess we will just have to disagree on this. I have seen nothing but tax increases ever since Obama got in and my standard of living has gone down while my expenses have gone up.
Hey LVS:
You are right– there is plenty of blame to go around. And, we will have to agree to disagree. OMG this is the circular argument my Grandpa –Staunch Republican-Frank B. Pirkl and Great Uncle- Staunch Democrat- Jimmy Curley always had. The more beer consumed the more hilarious it got. There is plenty of room on both sides to improve attitudes and performance. I am anxious to see how all this plays out….
To Marybeth Greenan,
I feel Shawn Dietz is trying to let everyone know where he stands, no matter your political preference.
While I can’t and won’t speak for Shawn, I will say; if you were to contact him and ask his position on your “important issues” I’m certain he will let you know his position. You can reach him through his web-site at http://www.dietz4iowa.com Hope this helps with your decision making process.
Thank you for the information. I have done my research and I believe that Shawn is a fine person. I have been a personal friend of Amanda Ragan since 1985. When she decided to run, I asked her all sorts of questions and now I have seen her performance. I unequivocally support her policies and would have voted the same way on every issue. Time will tell how it all turns out. I just hope we have big voter turn out….
Get your nose outta my womb Shawn and keep your pecker in your pants.
You never hear of the emotional pain and suffering women deal with that have had abortions. Only how great having the choice is….
I’ve read lots of information on this. 99% of women have no regrets or remorse after an abortion. They are just expelling a few cells, not a baby. They haven’t had a chance to become attached to these cells.
In my mind, if you’ve had more than one abortion, you’re using this method for birth control. That’s absolutely wrong on so many levels. But abortion should still be an option for those “mistakes” that happen. Birth control can fail, as we all know.
@JMO-Excellent post. Some will not believe you but that is because they are thinking with emotion and not their brains.
You use abortion for those mistakes and that means you are a cold blooded murderer. If you believe life does NOT begin at conception you have fallen for a lie right from satan and that makes you a fool.
@maybe-normally you and I agree, but not this time. You or no one else has the right to tell a woman what she should do with her body. Until the baby is born it is her body and her decision. You are basing your comments on religious feelings and not all people are religious or sign up for the dogma put out by religions.
LVS, we’re definitely on the same page with this issue.
If a woman is not using birth control and then gets pregnant and gets an abortion because she doesn’t want the baby, then she is committing murder wither it is her body or not, murder is murder. I don’t expect people to agree with me but this is my opinion and many others feel the same way. They can do what they want, as you say it is their body but their decisions do have consequences in the long run.
@maybe-I can somewhat agree with you on your comments. But, who is to say she did or didn’t use birth control. I have a niece who used it and still got pregnant. Now, she decided to keep the child but she could afford it. There are cases of rape and other circumstances that could cause it. I would rather DHS put in a two strikes and you are out rule on welfare. That would stop it real fast. As long as they can get money for it and it cost them nothing it will happen.
it doesn’t matter if we knew if she was using birth control or not, it’s up to her and her decision. I know that it is a touchy subject but there are a lot of people that want kids that can’t physically have them.
Prevention is the best option. Is male implantable contraception possible? Women (and possibly men) who present to the welfare office during the first child should be required to obey contraception practices for the duration of receiving benefits. Some form of population controls need to be put in place. Abortions are unpalatable, but should be allowed during beginning weeks of pregnancy to keep population in check. Some parents aren’t fit to raise children.
Telling people what they should do to their own bodies? For shame! You are an embarrassment to last year’s Philosophus
how would that make us any different than china?
@Philly-They should give the welfare baby’s a choice after the second fatherless baby. They can either get fixed or get off the welfare dime forever. The choice should be theirs but we should not have to continue to pay because some people are irresponsible. As to abortion, that should be up to the woman. No man should have the right to tell a woman what she should do with her body.
I agree with Dietz: life does start at conception. However, it’s a cruel world, and people are gaming the system. Also, unwanted children born into lowly ignorant situations perpetuate suffering and tax the system. It’s one thing to be single and disabled or struggling, but you shouldn’t have the right or ability to reproduce while on welfare status.
So you are against people’s constitutional rights if their social status doesn’t meet your criteria? That is by far the MOST hypocritical thing you have ever posted here.
Conservatives find themselves torn between their ideology, and practical reality. The practical reality is unwanted children born into abusive, negligent households, or even destined for homeless shelters and the streets. Would you stand in the way of allowing an abortion so the child can then later die by blunt force head trauma by a meth head boyfriend or mother? Not to mention the cost to society to feed and house the child.
Society has a right to protect itself. If someone is unfit to care for themselves, why in the hell should they be reproducing? It is unsustainable, and illogical. If everyone went down that path, the nation would be bankrupt. Disability happens…hardship happens…but for ONE PERSON. The person being helped has an obligation NOT to reproduce until such time they are fit and self sustaining.
My daughter and her boyfriend at the time had a baby, alittle boy and both my daughter and her boyfriend were doing meth. That was 7 years ago and now she is married and has another little boy and a great job and has been drug free for years. Who are you to decide if they should have a baby or not? One of the greatest leaders from Israel’s history was conceived out of rape, then there is Steven Hawking, what if his mother aborted him? What if your mother had an abortion Peter?
My mother did have an abortion…but I survived it.
This is some good discussion. presenting both sides of the argument without personal attacks, I like it. Philosophus I wish you would run for some sort of office again. You really have a unique insight on things. Agree with you or not, nobody can argue you come up with new outside of the box ideas. We need that in politics not just the same old all the time.
There are a number of birth control pills that prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg.
Does Ditz propose banning those, or making their use criminal, as in murder?
Or, is he just mouthing off some boilerplate campaign rhetoric?
He is either ignorant of basic reproduction facts, or a cynic, or both.
anybody that has had an abortion, wither they realize it or not has committed murder, legalized murder.
I should rephrase that, if they had an abortion just because she got pregnant and didn’t want it.
Is abortion murder or not? How can it be murder if you got pregnant but didn’t want the baby and then not murder under some other circumstance?
If a fetus spontaneously aborts, is God guilty of murder?
Since more abortions happen naturally than by choice, doesn’t that indicate that God isn’t that set on every baby being born?
Like I said, it is a touchy subject. I don’t proclaim to know everything about it all I have is my opinion. If the woman is NOT using birth control and she gets pregnant and the baby is healthy and she gets an abortion just because she doesn’t want it then that is murder in my eyes. If she is raped, it is up to her but I believe in Gods eyes if she has an abortion it is murder. If the baby is going to die or cannot live a proper life then I don’t know. What I see is Steven Hawking.
What about Hawking? Are you saying that if you could somehow determine that a baby wasn’t going to be exceptional, it would be okay to abort? Horrific! That you are trying to make exceptions based on your opinion makes it pretty clear that you shouldn’t have an abortion, but leave the decision for others up to them and their own opinions.
Jumping to conclusions, what I meant was that since he wasn’t perfect physically most people say abort it. Even if a baby has down syndrome or some other mental disease doesn’t mean that they can’t contribute to society. I think you knew what I actually meant, you are just trying to make me look bad.
Hawking was a perfectly normal, healthy child. His illness didn’t appear until he was grown.
Nobody would have said to abort Hawking, even if they had, just what do you think would have happened differently? What would we not have today?
What about your opinion on God being a murderer? If spontaneous abortions happen by His will, wouldn’t that also include that it was His will all along if a woman chooses to abort? Wouldn’t he know what was to happen and not have placed a soul to…
First of all I will admit that I didn’t know about steven hawkings illness coming on later on in life, I always thought he was born that way but my point is still valid, even someone with a mental illness can contribute to society. A for the spontaneous abortions, I can’t answer that because if I did that would suggest that I know what God is thinking and I don’t.
http://www.faith.com/video/She-Asked-a-Simple-Question-You-Wont-Believe-the-Response-She-Received/