The bill passed by Republicans allows for abortions up to about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. The legislation includes exceptions after that point for rape or incest, when the woman’s life is in serious danger or she faces a risk of certain permanent injuries, or when fetal abnormalities “incompatible with life” are present.
In public testimony on Tuesday, supporters and opponents of the legislation each told wrenching personal stories and described how religious beliefs shaped their views on abortion.
The Rev. Katie Styrt, a Presbyterian pastor from Davenport, described seeking an abortion several years ago when she was pregnant with twins, one of whom was found to have severe complications and would not be able to survive. She said she had hoped to save the other twin by getting the abortion.
“We had the health care and the doctors we needed to get us where we needed to be,” Ms. Styrt said. “Now, if this bill passes, we won’t.”
Others said passing the restrictions was a moral imperative.
“I understand both sides: I was a woman who exercised choice to have an abortion; this is why I advocate to prevent other women experiencing what I have gone through,” Kristi Judkins, the executive director of Iowa Right to Life, told legislators. “People have labeled me a hypocrite, but I ask you: Who here would tell someone to make the same negative, permanent, life-changing mistake?”
Sweeping restrictions on abortion in Iowa would further erode access to the procedure in the Midwest, where it is already limited in many states. But a new law would almost certainly face a fresh legal challenge, and the outcome in the courts would again be uncertain.
Abortion is banned in almost all cases in the bordering states of Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin, and a new 12-week ban recently passed in Nebraska. Illinois and Minnesota, which are led by Democrats, have permissive abortion laws and could become destinations for Iowa women seeking abortions. More than 3,700 abortions were performed in Iowa in 2021, according to state data, most of them by medication.