DES MOINES – A legislative subcommittee approved a measure dubbed the “personhood bill.”
The Iowa Senate will be held a subcommittee meeting on the “personhood bill” or Life at Conception bill. Senate File 53 could ban abortion in the state for any reason, without exception and would make it Iowa law that life begins at conception.
Iowa Senator Janet Petersen says she was “the ONLY woman with a say on the subcommittee on SF 253.
“When Senator Jason Schutlz, the subcommittee chair, asked me if I would sign the subcommittee report, I said: ‘I will not sign. As was stated throughout the subcommittee, there are still major concerns on criminalizing miscarriage and IVF. You said that birth control would not be illegal, but the way the bill is written, it would be. Because the two men on the subcommittee supported this bad idea, it will move forward.”
There were many pro and anti-abortion supporters in attendance.
The bill now moves to the Senate Judiciary committee later this week for consideration and will likely be approved prior to the Friday “funnel” deadline.
Also under consideration in the Statehouse at this time is a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks.
