Leave abortion decision to woman, doctor

Our state legislators are pushing a bill that bans a woman from having an abortion beyond the point of 20 weeks of pregnancy.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, only nine women in Iowa needed an abortion after the 20-week gestation period in 2006. The proposed law does not take into consideration the reasons this rare situation occurs, such as fetal anomalies where the fetus is very unlikely to survive, or when the health and life of the mother is in jeopardy. Hospitals could lose their licenses and funding while doctors could be thrown in prison for providing abortion services beyond 20 weeks.

Matters and decisions of health care should be made between a woman, her doctor and her family, not the government.

Shirley Pike

Marion