Iowa lawmakers pass 6-week 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban; Reynolds to sign bill Friday

In a late-night marathon session punctuated by heated protests, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that will ban nearly all abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, severely curtailing Iowans' access to the procedure.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced she will sign the measure Friday at the Family Leadership Summit, in front of an audience of conservative Christians. Several Republican presidential candidates are also slated to speak at the summit.

The ban will go into effect with her signature, requiring health care providers to comply immediately.

More: Abortion providers sue to block Iowa's new 6-week 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban

Iowa abortion providers have already filed a lawsuit challenging the ban.

The final Senate vote, shortly after 11 p.m., was punctuated by boos and shouts of "shame" from onlookers. As waves of shouting continued, several Iowans were escorted out of the gallery by state troopers. Some called Republicans fascists and yelled profanities, shouting that blood was on their hands. Others were in tears as they were led away.

The votes came in a marathon one-day special session that was punctuated by protesters' angry shouts in the Iowa Capitol and hours of emotional testimony from supporters and opponents.

The legislation would prohibit abortions after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo, which doctors say can happen as early as six weeks after a pregnant woman's last period. Republicans stressed that the timing would vary based on the individual.

That marks a sharp deviation from Iowa's current law, which allows abortion up to 20 weeks after conception (or 22 weeks after the last menstrual period).

"This bill protects unborn children in Iowa," said Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta. "This bill sets a clear standard where the state has an interest in the life of the child: when the baby’s heart starts beating. Where there is a heartbeat, there is life."

Hundreds of protesters flooded the Capitol rotunda Tuesday, chanting for hours. Ahead of a "Rally for Reproductive Rights," arguments broke out between supporters and opponents of the bill, becoming so heated at one point that a state trooper had to break them up.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters following the vote that "Iowa women have fewer rights to make their own bodily decisions" because of Republicans and that "we're not going to let them get away with it."

"There are 483 days until Election Day 2024 and there won’t be a day that Iowa House Democrats aren’t reminding voters that Republicans took away their rights and acted against the will of more than half of Iowa voters," Konfrst said.

The House voted 56-34 shortly after 9 p.m., after about five hours of debate. Every Democrat was opposed. All Republicans were in favor except Reps. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, and Zach Dieken, R-Granville. Ten representatives were absent.

Dieken authored a post this month for the Iowa Standard, a conservative blog, calling the "heartbeat" legislation "window dressing to make ourselves feel good about ultimately falling short to act on this issue." And Cisneros wrote on Facebook that he agreed with Dieken.

The Senate voted 32-17 to pass the legislation, sending the bill to Reynolds for her signature. Every Republican voted in favor except Sen. Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville. Every Democrat was opposed. One senator was absent.

What does the 6-week abortion bill do? What happens when it passes?

The "fetal heartbeat" law passed by Republicans would ban nearly all abortions after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo. That occurs at about six weeks of gestation — measured as six weeks after a woman's last menstrual period began.

The legislation is nearly identical to a law signed by Reynolds in 2018, which was permanently blocked by the courts. Reynolds called the special session after the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 last month, leaving the law blocked.

More: Iowa lawmakers propose another 'fetal heartbeat' bill. Here's what it would do:

Medical professionals say it's misleading to call those early electric pulses a "fetal heartbeat," as the embryo is not yet a fetus, and the cells that will become a heart do not yet move blood.

Under Iowa's current law, which allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, individuals must wait 24 hours between an initial appointment and an abortion procedure.

Marathon one-day special session concludes late Tuesday night

Republican leaders set an ambitious schedule for Tuesday's one-day special session, advancing the bill through the entire legislative process in just under 15 hours.

Bitter floor debate waged through the evening, as Democrats vehemently opposed the bill. Supporters and opponents each shared deeply personal stories from their own lives and those of their constituents.

Rep. Luana Stoltenberg, R-Davenport, told the story of her own three abortions.

"I was told that it was just a blob of tissue, that it was easy and it was safe," she said. "That was a lie. Those abortions caused me not to be able to have children. Every day I live with the reality that I killed the only children I would ever have."

Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City, said the decision about whether or not to have a child should always be in the hands of the person who is pregnant.

"No government should ever have the power to force a human to go through a pregnancy and give birth," she said.

Rep. Brad Sherman, R-Williamsburg, said "the baby is not being considered very much" in the discussion.

"Abortion is never safe for a baby. Ever," he said. "Abortion always results in a death."

Sherman said if someone doesn't want to get pregnant, they shouldn't have sex.

"Everyone is free not to have sex," Sherman said. "If they’re not prepared to have a baby they shouldn’t have sex, if they’re that concerned about it. I will stand for everyone’s right to practice abstinence."

Konfrst said women are not free when they can't make their own health care decisions and "after today, women will be less free."

"Everyone deserves the right to make their own health care decisions, especially when it comes to reproductive care and abortion," Konfrst said. "None of us have any business being in a doctor’s office when these decisions are made."

Democrats also criticized Republican leaders for constraining the session to a single day.

“Do you have somewhere you need to be at midnight? Does someone in this chamber have somewhere you need to be tomorrow?” asked Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines. “You make women wait 24 hours for abortion care, but you’re going to give them less than 3 hours … to make the case of why their bodies should matter?”

Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, argued that lawmakers passed a nearly identical law in 2018 following extensive public comment and debate.

"There has not been a rushed process," she said in a Senate committee. "In fact, I would suggest that perhaps this has gone on too long, given the nature and the contents of the law."

Sinclair said in floor debate that the 2018 law was only "in limbo" because of "overreach by the judicial branch."

"So here we are, needlessly forcing the Legislature to repass a law that is already enacted in an effort to protect the lives of every single individual across our state who has a beating heart," she said.

More: Iowa could ban most abortions by Wednesday morning as lawmakers gather for special session

Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said the immediate implementation of the law shows "incredible disrespect and potentially disdain for the medical profession." She questioned whether the new restriction was constitutional.

What exceptions does Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' bill have?

The bill has several exceptions.

• For rape, if the rape is reported to law enforcement or to a public health agency or doctor within 45 days.

• If the pregnancy is the result of incest, if the incest is reported to law enforcement or a public health agency or doctor within 140 days.

• If "the attending physician certifies that the fetus has a fetal abnormality that in the physician's reasonable medical judgment is incompatible with life."

• For a miscarriage "if not all of the products of conception are expelled."

• For a "medical emergency," defined as "a situation in which an abortion is performed to preserve the life of the pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy" or when continuing the pregnancy "will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."

The medical emergency exception does not include psychological, emotional or familial conditions or the woman's age.

Democrats offered a range of amendments to extend Medicaid coverage to mothers for one year after they give birth, to create additional exceptions to allow minors and people with mental health difficulties and developmental disabilities to access abortions, to provide over-the-counter birth control, and to state that Iowans have a right to reproductive freedom. The amendments were voted down along party lines.

Republicans voted against those amendments, arguing that the exceptions outlined in the bill would be sufficient.

"Democrats would lead differently," said Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames. "We would make sure that a full spectrum of reproductive health care is available for Iowa women."

Iowans share personal stories, medical arguments during 90-minute public hearing

Iowans packed into rooms to plead their case directly to lawmakers, speaking both for and against the bill at a 90-minute public hearing in the House and then in a Senate subcommittee.

Some emotionally shared their experiences with abortion, and several expressed their dismay and anger with the proposed law.

In the Capitol rotunda Tuesday, protesters clanged bells and chanted: "Hey, hey, ho, ho, abortion bans have got to go," and "My body, my choice" and occasionally pounded on the frosted glass of the room's door.

Dr. Francesca Turner, an OB-GYN and member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said the language in the bill is ambiguous about when doctors can intervene in cases of pregnancy complications.

“At what point when your wife or your daughter or your sister is having a medical emergency during a pregnancy do I get to save her life?” she said. “At what moment do I get to intervene? It’s unclear in this bill.”

Katie Buck, a West Des Moines resident, brought her 7-year-old son, Alex, to the hearing. Alex was born with trisomy 18, a genetic complication caused by an extra chromosome. The condition can be fatal.

Buck said it qualifies as one of the fetal abnormality exceptions allowed in the bill. She urged lawmakers to remove the exception from the bill.

“Alex is 7 years old. How can he be incompatible with life?” she said. “You have no idea how hard we had to fight against this fatal fetal anomaly label to get him the medical care he needed to survive.”

Amy Bingaman, another OB-GYN, said passing the bill would force women into lifelong obligations that will affect their education, careers and families. She said it will also worsen Iowa’s OB-GYN shortage.

“Pass this law and we will lose well-qualified providers from our community,” she said. “Take away our ability to practice full-spectrum health care, and providers will choose to practice in another state, and many will leave Iowa. As a physician, I would not dare think I could put on a black robe and be a judge. Let us wear our white coats and properly care for our patients.”

Terry Pollard, pastor at Des Moines’ Eastside Church of the Nazarene, urged lawmakers to consider the value of human life.

“Human life is of the greatest value to God, the creator of life,” he said. “And it should be of value to us as moral beings who have life. Life is a gift of God as God is the giver of life. The sanctity of human life gives inviolable and equal value to every life.”

House Democrats said, as of Monday night, 1,025 people had left comments online opposed to the bill, and 37 had left comments supporting it.

Advocates pack Capitol rotunda as tempers run high and state troopers intervene

The atmosphere in the rotunda grew tense at times in the morning, after one man holding a Bible approached a crowd of abortion rights advocates and screamed that they were "killing babies" and asked, "Why do you hate yourselves?"

Several advocates approached him and screamed back, eventually leading a state trooper to break up the scrum.

Those gathered to support abortion rights, many donning pink shirts from Planned Parenthood that read "no bans ever," chanted "abortion bans have got to go" and "separate the church and state."

As Republican lawmakers walked to and from committee meetings, protesters greeted them with shouts of "shame" and "vote them out." Some called Republicans fascists and shouted profanities.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, who have condemned the special session and legislation to restrict abortion, set up tables and supplied advocates with coffee.

Carrie England, a retired nurse from Van Meter, was one of those in attendance, wearing a pink shirt and holding a sign alongside her granddaughter, Sylvia Visser of Des Moines.

England said she had a child — Visser's mother — when she was 16, and Visser was born when her mother was 19. She chose to keep the child, but she wanted other women in Iowa to have a choice.

"I believe that abortion is health care," England said. "And banning and putting even further restrictions on abortion is not going to stop abortions. It's only going to make them unsafe."

She believes abortion restrictions will put medical professionals "in an awkward position," saying if she was still active in the medical field, she would want to "go rogue."

Some anti-abortion advocates were also present: A small group of abortion opponents gathered to sing "Amazing Grace" nearby, and several younger women held "pro-life" signs.

Josephine Talley, a Des Moines resident who attends Creighton University in Omaha, said she came to show that "there are Iowans here that are pro-life, especially young women." She praised the proposed bill to restrict abortion at about six weeks of pregnancy but said she would like to see it go further.

"I would prefer one that is earlier, but I think it is a really great step in the right direction," Talley said. "So I'm thrilled that they are calling this special session for it."

How do Iowans feel about whether abortion should be legal?

Polling shows a majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal.

A March Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found 61% of Iowans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 35% say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

More: Iowa Poll: Over 60% support legal abortion as state Supreme Court considers restrictions

Eighty-nine percent of Iowans say abortion should be legal if the pregnant person's life is in danger, and 85% say abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, according to an Iowa Poll from October.

The October poll also asked Iowans whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: "Abortion should be illegal once a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks after conception."

Nearly half of Iowans, 49%, said they disagreed with that idea, while 45% agreed.

Register reporter Michaela Ramm contributed to this story.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at [email protected] or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa passes 6-week 'heartbeat' abortion ban in volatile special session