Iowa House Republicans offer language to clarify 20-week abortion ban

DES MOINES - Iowa House Republicans who are pushing to ban almost all abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy plan to offer new language today ease opponents' concerns that they are attempting a 'backdoor” ban on all abortions.

In three-and-a-half hours of debate Tuesday night, Democrats argued that the language of the Human Resources Committee's amendment to Senate-passed Senate File 471 would set up a ban on abortion after fertilization. That occurs at about the fifth to sixth week of pregnancy - often before a woman knows she is pregnant, they said.

'Our intent all along has been to make sure that Iowans understand that we believe that all life is important,” Human Resource Committee Chairman Joel Fry, R-Osceola, said Wednesday morning. 'This amendment will correct a drafting error … to clearly articulate that this is a 20-week bill, hoping to clarify any of the arguments on the floor last night suggesting otherwise.”

The committee amendment stated 'Nothing in this chapter shall be construes as determining life to begin at 20 weeks post-fertilization. Instead it is recognized that life begins at fertilization.”

'That clearly established there is a backdoor attempt to go back to the language that was before the 20-week ban, which was fertilization,” said Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines. 'It contradicts itself (because) life begins at conception means that certain forms of birth control are murder.”

Fry and Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, rejected that line of thought.

'If we were pushing life at conception we would have a life-at-conception bill on the floor today,” Windschitl said.

The amendment, Fry said, makes clear that's not the case. It state's the majority party's belief that 'it is the intent of the General Assembly to enact policies that protect all unborn life.”

At least 18 states have similar laws and 23 have laws banning abortion before 24 weeks, including several that set the bar at 20 week.

Fry called the bill, with the new language, 'a monumental piece of legislation that protects unborn life.”

'At this point in time this is the bill we have before us and it does a fantastic job, I believe, of continuing to keep that conversation of life being sacred and important,” he said.

He also believes it give lawmakers the political cover they need to explain their votes to prolife constituents.

'I believe that I will be able to say to my constituents that we have advanced protection for the unborn and that we believe that all unborn life is sacred,” Fry said before debate resumed on SF 471. 'I feel confident to be able to go back home and share that with constituents.”

He expects the House to approve the bill today and send it back to the Senate where a similar, but not identical 20-week ban was approved 32-17.

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