By: Tracy Mcneme Carrothers – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Iowa accelerated the war on women’s reproductive rights yesterday when the governor signed legislation known as the “heartbeat bill.” The new law, that will definitely be challenged immediately, forwards the agenda of moving towards challenging the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling.
Senate File 359 requires that doctor’s test for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion. If a heartbeat is present, which can be detected as early as 6 weeks, the doctor must notify the patient and the procedure is prohibited except in emergency situations. This is effectively a ban on abortion because most women do not even know they are pregnant until after 6 weeks.
Although exceptions for cases of rape exist within the law, women are further demeaned by the requirement that victims report their assault to law enforcement or to a public or private health agency within 45 days in order to have access to the medical procedure. The callous provision represents the ignorance of lawmakers and surely exacerbates the powerlessness rape victims can feel. This further drives home the point that this law is an attempt to control women.
The Iowa GOP also made a move to limit how federal funds can be used for sex education, barring agencies that provide abortions from accessing the funds. Restricting access to abortion and sex education?
Is this Iowa? No, it’s Gilead.
If reducing abortion were the real desire, sex education would not be limited. The obvious and unhidden agenda is to roll back the law to a time when sexual health was not discussed and abortion happened in the back alleys.
The future of women’s reproductive rights requires that Iowa Democrats get a win in the gubernatorial race.
The law is set to go into effect on July 1, but PPact (Planned Parenthood Action Committee) and the ACLU announced they would join together to sue to prevent this from happening.
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