(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Hundreds gather at Capitol for abortion special session [1]
['Jay Waagmeester', 'Kathie Obradovich', 'More From Author', '- July']
Date: 2023-07-11
Hundreds of Iowans packed the State Capitol on Tuesday as the Legislature convened in special session and prepared to debate a bill to ban most abortions in Iowa.
The Iowa House Health and Human Services Committee hosted a public hearing on House Study Bill 255 and the Senate State Government Committee heard public comments during a subcommittee meeting on its identical version of the bill, Senate Study Bill 1223.
Both bills would prohibit abortion after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected, usually as early as six weeks after conception. The bill contains exceptions for rape or incest reported within a certain period of time to authorities, or for the life of the pregnant patient.
Both bills cleared committees in the House and Senate on party-line votes. The House reconvened and lawmakers were meeting in party caucuses; the Senate is expected to convene at 4 p.m.
Gov. Kim Reynolds called the special session after the Iowa Supreme Court, split 3-3, left in place an injunction that blocked enactment of a nearly identical 2018 law.
As hearings were underway in two meeting rooms, hundreds gathered in the Capitol rotunda with signs and participated in chants, muffling the voices of those speaking inside. Chants of “Vote them out” and “Hey hey, ho ho, abortion bans have got to go” rang in the halls outside of the room.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy joined the crowd after meeting with Reynolds.
“The judicial branch here got it wrong but the people of this country – people of this state – put Kim Reynolds in office and put those legislators in both chambers of the Legislature to actually reflect the will of the people. And that’s what we’re celebrating,” Ramaswamy said.
Lori Van Lo of West Des Moines, who was standing nearby, interjected that 60% of Iowans don’t agree with an abortion ban.
“So, look, if you want to vote for somebody else, you have the power to do that,” Ramaswamy responded.
During both hearings, advocates from both sides of the issue shared their stories, citing religion, bodily autonomy and clarity of the bill’s enforcement.
Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Pulse Life Advocates, said during the House hearing that she testified in front of legislators to prevent abortions in 2018.
“This has been a long time coming,” DeWitte said. “I testified at our heartbeat bill in 2018, and here we are again. It is beyond time to once and for all have this heartbeat law passed, for the second time, signed into law for the second time, but now will be able to be enforced.”
Advocates that have spoken out against the passing of this bill have threatened to take the law to court if enacted.
Francesca Turner, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, asked lawmakers for better guidance from the bill.
“Using medically inaccurate language is confusing and dangerous,” Turner said. “The words in the bill should be very specific and accurate. These words matter and facts are important.”
Turner asked the committee members: “At what point will your wife or your daughter, who is having a medical emergency related to pregnancy, do I get to save her life? At what point do I get to intervene? It is unclear in this bill.”
“Pregnancy is too complicated to legislate,” Turner said. “I support the rights of patients to choose medical care that is best for them, and help them access care without government interference.”
A majority of speakers in favor of the bill referred to their religion. John Lamb, a pastor speaking for Lutheran Family Service, emphasized during the Senate hearing that he believes life begins at conception. “A new and unique human being comes into existence,” he said. “… So I want to remind everyone that when we talk about heartbeat, we’re not talking about the heartbeat of something, but the heartbeat of someone.”
Some who opposed the bill also cited their religion.
Sally Frank, who said she was an active member of the Jewish community, said that the law does not allow her to practice religion.
“Under Jewish life, human life begins at birth. While the fetus has value, its value is far below the human lives of the living people, including those who are pregnant.”
“Abortion is part of good health care and forced birth is not,” Frank said.
Rev. Brigit Stevens, a regional minister for the United Church of Christ, spoke on behalf of Black, indigenous people of color and LGBTQ Iowans.
“Abortion will not go away, it will go underground, and let’s be frank, straight white men with money will still be able to get abortions for their wives, their daughters and their girlfriends,” Stevens said. “And other people of color, Black, indigenous folks and LGBTQ Iowans will continue to die at exponentially higher rates than white Iowans. Mothers will die and babies will die.”
Loras College student Grace Van Petten said she used to be pro-choice and she now believes women her age are misinformed about abortion. “We have many young women like my younger self convinced that abortion is needed or necessary,” she said, and that abortion is “the removal of just a clump of cells.”
Following the hearing, the House subcommittee of the whole immediately voted to pass the bill to the committee and the bill moved to the full Health and Human Services Committee.
House Democrats presented four amendments in committee regarding extending postpartum Medicaid, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and access to contraception and accessibility to child care. They all failed on party-line votes.
Both the House and Senate majority parties have passed rules for the special session that limit debate in committees and on the floor.
Democrats in the House and Senate objected to limiting debate on the legislation.
“When you make a decision, Senator Whitver, to change the rules and democracy, to cut and muzzle the voices of Iowa women and those who love them and stand for them, you’re showing what Iowa looks like. That’s a dictatorship,” Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said, addressing Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver during debate of chamber rules for the special session.
Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, the bill’s floor manager, pushed back at the criticism that the process has been rushed, saying during the subcommittee meeting the language was identical to the legislation debated at length and passed in 2018. “We are not here for one day, we are here for five years,” she said during opening comments of the Senate’s subcommittee meeting on the bill. “In fact, I would suggest that perhaps this has gone on too long, given the nature of the contents of the law.”
Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said there are many new members in the Legislature who were not part of the discussion in 2018. “At the time the law was passed back in 2018, it was unconstitutional not only under the Iowa constitution but the U.S. Constitution as well. So it was an entirely different legal situation,” she said.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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