DES MOINES – The Iowa Senate easily passed a bill Thursday to protect the unborn, but turns away millions in federal funding as a result.
By a vote of 30-20, the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate OK’d Senate File 2, which de-funds organizations like the controversial Planned Parenthood, where unborn babies are terminated by mothers and doctors.
Democrats vehemently battled against the bill, but the minority party could not sway the Republicans, who have no problem snubbing upwards of $3 million in federal Medicaid dollars. The new bill creates an Iowa family planning agency with no dollars for providers who perform abortions.
Iowa Democratic Senator Janet Peterson delivered one of the longer presentations against the bill.
“It will create more unintended pregnancies, more high risk pregnancies, and cost Iowa taxpayers more,” Peterson said. “Apparently 28 Republican men and 1 Republican woman know what’s best for women’s health care… It is also important to note, there is no money in Senate File 2 to start this new program.”
The new program created in the bill would go into effect July 1.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will next consider the bill, where it seems like a slam-dunk, and then Governor Branstad will likely sign it before he heads east to China.
