(Radio Iowa) – Neither the governor nor Republican legislative leaders have indicated if new abortion restrictions or an outright ban on the procedure is the goal of next week’s special session, but a few rank and file lawmakers say it will be similar to the so-called heartbeat bill passed in 2018. That law would have banned most abortions after fetal activity can be detected. The Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked last month on the governor’s request to lift a lower court’s injunction that has prevented the law from taking effect. Representative Bob Henderson is a Republican from Sioux City. “It’s an interesting case,” Henderson says. “…I’m not sure exactly what it is that we’re going to do.”

But Henderson expects the bill that will be debated to be similar to the 2018 heartbeat bill that was the toughest abortion law in the country when it was passed. “I’m not exactly sure what the wording has to be because I don’t understand what the ruling says specifically,” Henderson says, “so whether we can pass exactly the same bill or we have to pass a slightly different one, I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

As we’ve mentioned, Henderson and other lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol in Des Moines and convene the special legislative session at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.