Iowa approves restrictive 'heartbeat' abortion ban

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Lawmakers in the US state of Iowa passed on Wednesday the country’s most restrictive abortion ban yet, rendering it illegal to terminate a pregnancy once a heartbeat has been detected, something that can occur as early as six weeks in and before a woman realizes she is expecting.

The Republican-controlled state senate voted 29-17 to pass the bill. The bill now goes to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, an abortion opponent, who has not said publicly whether she will sign it into law.

The new Iowa bill requires any woman seeking an abortion to undergo an abdominal ultrasound to screen for a fetal heartbeat. If one is detected, healthcare providers are barred from performing an abortion.

Among the few exceptions are if the woman was raped or a victim of incest and has reported that to authorities.

January 27, 2017: Thousands of people take part in the March for Life in Washington, DC. /VCG Photo

Abortion foes celebrated, hailing the legislation as the first step in potentially dismantling Roe v. Wade – the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision, which established that women have a constitutional right to an abortion.

They aim to land the issue once again in front of the nation's top court, where they believe the 5-4 conservative majority – following President Donald Trump's appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch – could sharply curtail abortion access or ban it outright.

Congressman Steve King of Iowa, a conservative Republican who sits on the powerful Judiciary Committee in the US House of Representatives, praised the so-called "heartbeat" ban, describing it as "the most consequential legislation in Iowa history" that could "set the stage" to challenge abortion nationally.

"We created an opportunity to take a run at Roe v. Wade – 100 percent," Republican State Senator Rick Bertrand also said.

January 27, 2017: Abortion rights supporters and pro-life supporters protest outside the US Supreme Court during the March for Life. /VCG Photo

Opponents, however, vowed to continue fighting the bill.

"We fought this legislation every step of the way and regret that it has made it this far," Veronica Fowler, spokeswoman for the ACLU of Iowa, told AFP news agency. "It is clearly unconstitutional and it effectively blocks the right (to) an abortion for most women."

Spokeswoman Becca Lee of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which supports access to abortion, called it an "intentionally unconstitutional ban on 99 percent of safe, legal abortions designed to challenge Roe v. Wade."

It sets "an arbitrary standard that bans abortion long before the point of fetal viability," she told Reuters.

The Iowa bill follows a number of recent legislative measures around the US.

Mississippi's Republican governor in March signed into law a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks with some exceptions, sparking an immediate court challenge by abortion rights advocates.

A similar court challenge is underway in Kentucky, which in April enacted a ban on a common abortion procedure from the 11th week of pregnancy.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters