Republicans on a House committee have tabled a proposal to ban abortions at about the sixth week of a pregnancy, after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. Instead, Republicans in the Iowa House are pursuing a ban on abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy, unless the mother’s life or health are endangered. Representative Joel Fry of Osceola, the Republican who leads the House Human Resources Committee: “‘This is the piece of legislation we have consensus on.”  The bill cleared the committee last night with the support of 11 of the 12 Republicans present. Representative Tom Moore of Griswold was the only Republican to vote no.

All eight Democrats in the committee room opposed the bill.Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, calls the 20-week ban an “incremental” approach. “This gives us a way to dial back some of the concerns that we have and start saving lives immediately,” Lundgren says. “…We’re still moving pro-life legislation…I think that’s important to remember.”

The committee took an abortion ban that cleared the Senate in mid-March, keeping the 20-week threshold, but removing an exception that would have allowed abortions after 20 weeks if the fetus had a fatal condition. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, says there was just too much “push back” against the more restrictive abortion ban, plus under that OTHER bill, parents could have sued their adult daughters for getting an abortion.

“What century do we live in?” Wessel-Kroeschell asked, with a laugh. “So I think the message got out.” The House Human Resources Committee met last (Wednesday) night to debate the proposal. Wessel-Kroeschell led the Democratic opposition. “Although the bill is improved, it is in no way accepted to Iowa, Iowans and Iowa women,” she said. Tom Chapman of the Iowa Catholic Conference says the church had concerns about the now-tabled abortion ban based on when a fetal heartbeat is detected.

“We’re interested in passing a bill that will be effective and has the best chance of standing up in court,” Chapman says. “A 20-week bill has been passed in many different states…and I think that’s a good place for Iowa to start.” Iowans for Life executive director Maggie DeWitte would like to see legislators declare that life begins at conception and that could be basis for a legal challenge of the Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion.

“However, we don’t have any opposition to incremental change and hope to see something go forward,” DeWitte says. Erin Davison-Rippey of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland says the bill Republicans have now crafted still could endanger in vitro fertilization and outlaw some forms of contraception. “Iowans do not support these extreme measures,” Davison-Rippey says. It’s unclear when this issue may be debated in the full, 100-member House.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)