Iowa House Committee Passes a 20-Week Abortion Ban

A bill in Iowa could make the state one of the most restrictive in the country.

Capitol Police arrest Lauren Handy, third from left, of Anti Choice Project DC,
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Capitol Police arrest Lauren Handy, third from left, of Anti-Choice Project DC,

Capitol Police arrest Lauren Handy, third from left, of Anti Choice Project DC,

On Wednesday night, Iowa's House Human Resources Committee passed a bill that, if it becomes law, would give the state some of the most restrictive abortion rules in the country. 

Iowa Republicans originally wanted a so-called "fetal heartbeat" bill, which would have restricted abortions after as little as six weeks of pregnancy. When that was met with outrage, lawmakers decided to scrap that bill and introduce a new one in its place. That bill, which you can read here, restricts abortion at 20 weeks, with the barest of exceptions: only to save the life of the child, or if "the pregnant woman has a condition which the physician deems a medical emergency."

When the bill was being debated, it was initially reported that Rep. Shannon Lundgren confirmed that this meant that even if a pregnant woman miscarried after 20 weeks, she would still have to carry the baby to term.

After the bill was passed, Lundgren denied on Twitter that this was the case. 

Per her argument, "abortion" is in fact defined in the bill as "the termination of a human pregnancy with the intent other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus." 

The Iowa bill is not law yet—while it is out of committee, it still has to voted on by the full House.

In Ohio, a similar 20-week ban actually became law in December.

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