Republicans reverse course on 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban

Barely 24 hours after introducing legislation that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, Iowa Republicans reversed course Wednesday and instead advanced a less restrictive bill that would block abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy.

"We've been working over the course of the last few hours to get consensus within our caucus on an agreement that we can all move forward," said House Human Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola. "And this is the piece of legislation that we have consensus on."

The fetal heartbeat bill, introduced as an amendment late Tuesday, would have effectively ended abortions as early as six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy.

Some Republican lawmakers and advocates expressed concern that the heartbeat language would immediately face legal challenges and therefore do little to actually curtail abortions in Iowa. Two other states – North Dakota and Arkansas – have attempted similar measures but were blocked by the courts.

Rep. Rob Taylor, R-West Des Moines, said “a number” of House Republicans had reservations about the fetal heartbeat language after it was introduced.

“I think any time we have language that is realistic and doesn’t end up in court, I think that’s the opportunity to save more lives,” he said. “To run something through here just to end up in court isn’t necessarily the option that I would prefer, but I think that’s a discussion that we’ll have.”

A fetal heartbeat bill enacted in North Dakota in 2013 was struck down because it violated a previous U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing that abortion is legal until a fetus is viable outside of the womb. The North Dakota ban was appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 declined to consider the case.

The law was never enforced and the state faced close to $500,000 in outside legal costs, according to an Associated Press report.

"We do support life at conception, but at the same time, I don't think our courts are in that place where something like that could stand up," said Iowa Catholic Conference Executive Director Tom Chapman, who has pushed for a 20-week ban rather than a six-week fetal heartbeat bill. "I'd rather not have another brick in the wall for Roe v. Wade."

The 20-week ban now under consideration in the House is similar to ones enacted in 17 states across the country, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health policy organization.

The bill previously was approved by the Iowa Senate, but House Republicans amended it Wednesday. They removed provisions that would have applied criminal penalties to physicians who perform illegal abortions. Instead, physicians could have their licenses revoked by the Iowa Board of Medicine.

Democrats remained deeply critical of the proposal despite efforts to scale it back.

“I’m disheartened and, quite frankly, I’m disgusted to see this bill before us,” said Rep. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames.

In particular, Democrats voiced concern about the limited exceptions included in the legislation.

The bill includes an exemption to the 20-week ban if the mother’s life is in jeopardy or if she faces substantial or irreversible health risks. It does not include exceptions for rape, incest or fetal anomalies.

Rep. Marti Anderson, D-Des Moines, said she has worked with sexual assault victims for 38 years and worried that a rape victim suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder might not know she’s pregnant until it’s too late, or that a child impregnated through incest would not be able to recognize a pregnancy until after 20 weeks. She also said she’s concerned the bill would force women to carry to term a fetus with extreme defects that make life outside the womb impossible.

“I don’t think 20-week abortion is ever used as the easy way out,” said Anderson. “I don’t think it’s ever used for birth control. I think it’s used when women who wanted to get pregnant find themselves with a pregnancy that’s gone very wrong, or when somebody who’s been victimized or harmed in some way finds out that they’re carrying some jerk’s baby.”

According to 2014-2015 data from the state Department of Public Health, about 94 percent of surgically or medically induced abortions in Iowa occurred during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. The remainder occurred between 14 and 28 weeks; the data do not show how many abortions were performed specifically after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Some Republicans said they would support the 20-week ban even though they favored the original fetal heartbeat language.

“This is not the bill, ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to move on today," Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said during the committee meeting. "I wanted to vote on life at conception or the heartbeat bill, but this is what we have. I support this bill as a step forward. We must continue to fight for the protection of all unborn children.”

The bill's floor manager, Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said she believes the 20-week ban would still be a victory for the pro-life movement.

"I think anytime we save an unborn baby's life, it's a good step and a move forward," she said. "Republicans ran for office on pro-life campaigns, and this is one step that we can take in that direction."

The House Human Resources Committee approved Senate File 471 Wednesday night on a vote of 11 to 8. No Democrats voted for the bill, and Rep. Tom Moore, R-Griswold, was the only Republican to vote against it. He declined to explain his vote.

The legislation is now eligible for debate on the House floor.