DES MOINES – The Iowa Senate today passed the Heartbeat Bill, which ends abortions for babies with beating hearts.
Senate File 2281 is a bill for an act relating to the prerequisites for and prohibition against an abortion related to the testing for, and following the detection of, a fetal heartbeat, providing for a repeal, and providing penalties. Today, it passed in the Iowa Senate by a vote of 30-20 and will now head to the Iowa House, where Republicans hold a steep lead in seats. Â Governor Kim Reynolds very well could sign the bill if it passes the House.
Abortion opponents rejoiced at the news, chief among them Congressman Steve King, who tweeted “If a heartbeat is detected, the baby is protected! Iowa Senate passes Heartbeat Bill, ends abortion for babies with beating hearts.” King has been battling for passage of his own federal Heartbeat Protection Act.
Since a fetus’ beating heart can be detected just days after conception, this bill, if passed, would put serious restrictions on abortions in Iowa.
Some against the measure lashed out at Sen. Amy Sinclair, who has been managing the bill. Planned Parenthood voters of Iowa tweeted, Sinclair is “once again putting her personal agenda above the law, above medical standards, and above the will of the people.”
Sinclair reportedly said, “This bill is the logical beginning point for all of civil governance. It’s at the very heart and soul of what it means to be an American, what it means to be a person.”
The bill makes it a felony to perform an abortion outside its guidelines.
