HF 573, a bill that offers women the opportunity to see an ultrasound and be fully informed before making a decision to abort their baby, not only survived funnel week, it actually passed out of the Iowa House this week.
Unfortunately, this bill may never hit the Senate floor unless you state senator demands it. They need to hear a resounding outcry from their constituents to honor both the unborn and women by doing all they can to get HF 573 out of committee, to the Senate floor and then to vote YES.
Some complain it mandates medical treatment, but it really doesn’t. An ultrasound is not required unless an abortion is being sought, only then is the ultrasound a prerequisite. No abortion, no ultrasound, no mandate.
Doing an ultrasound or similar assessment before performing a medical procedure to remove a ”mass” in any other situation would simply be – sound medicine – routine medical practice giving the patient and doctor full information before undertaking a procedure with risk to life. What is new is that doctors will now offer women the opportunity to view the ultrasound, hear the heartbeat, and see the development of the baby.
The determination of Democratic legislators, women no less, to withhold information that might save a life before undergoing a medical procedure that will certainly end a life was simply astounding. For what other medical procedure would anyone ever suggest we limit information or refuse to disclose potential danger? How much more, should we want to have all information accessible when it’s a matter of life and death? Most agree ultrasounds are already routinely done before an abortion to establish the developmental stage of the unborn baby, but they also reveal risks to the mother. Legislators who call themselves pro-choice should have no trouble with women making an informed choice. This bill simply makes more information available, which is what many fear – the truth – abortion kills.
True, HF 573 doesn’t outlaw abortion. It only offers information. It’s incremental, which is a deal-breaker for some pro-life groups. Understood, but the reason the pro-choice crowd was quaking and having to caucus multiple times during the debate means they understand – incremental is detrimental – truth, no matter how small triumphs the lies of the pro-death industry. The small image of a baby, only ounces old, can bring unbearable weight to the abortion industry, causing years of false information and propaganda to crumble. Seeing a beating heart no doubt changes even a hurting heart. Saving a few until we can save them all seems far better than stopping none unless we outlaw all. It was nice to see various factions of the pro-life movement work together, and together we can win the fight for the life of all.
The success of HF 573 is due to a growing group of fresh-fire legislators. Rep. Heartsill’s (R-District 28) remarks were limited, but his leadership was key in gathering a good number of co-sponsors, ushering the bill through committee, and adding a key amendment replacing “fetus” with “unborn child”. Rep. Fry (R-District 27) managed the bill on the Floor and was subjected to brutal belittling from Rep. Mascher (D-District 86) and Wessel-Kroeschell’s (D-District 45). Reps. Baxter (R-District 8), Rogers (R-District 60), Gustafson (R-District 25), Pettengill (R-District 75), Salmon (R-District 63), L. Miller (R-District 94), and Holt (R-District 18) all had excellent words on the House Floor.
View the Video of the Floor debate. It’s time consuming; in an effort to drag the bill down and cause it to fail, the Democrats offered over 30 plus amendments. The debate is worth listening to to hear some of the irrational arguments of opponents. Rep. Wessel-Kroeschell (D-District 45), Rep. Ruff (D-District 56), and Rep. Mascher (D-District 86) who, like other abortion advocates, suddenly become vehemently concerned about protecting life – but only the life of the woman during the killing of her child. Seems an ironic twist, doesn’t it? That they would work so hard to deny access to a valuable assessment that might reveal health risks to the mother only compounds the hypocrisy.
That some would willfully keep women in the Dark Ages, literally, and deny anyone technological advances of this magnitude is sinister. It’s especially egregious considering the Left’s fallacious accusations of a “war on women” and instead reveals their own war on the womb. They even drew the equality card making women out to be victims as they worked to fight informed consent – perplexing really.
Abortion has always been a heated topic and often split down party lines. That was par for this debate with only one Republican, Rob Taylor (R-District 44), voting against the bill. For many today, the first photographic image of life is that of their own ultrasound in the womb. Doesn’t every mother deserve the opportunity to see what has been knit together in the womb (Ps 139:13)?
As Rep. Terry Baxter said so well, “The only voice a pre-born baby has is its heartbeat; that’s the only voice that can be heard from the baby. I don’t think there is any problem letting the heartbeat speak for itself.” Unfortunately, the Iowa Senate will likely silence every Iowa voice by refusing any vote on HF 573 because the Democrats in control aren’t really about choice after all.
TAKE ACTION: Regardless of others inaction or reaction – we’re still called to action. Let’s do all we can to put pressure on Senate members and let them know we care about INFORMED CONSENT. Click here to find out who your state senator is as well as his/her contact information. E-mail him/her with the information provided or call the Senate switchboard at 515-281-3711. Let’s apply a little pressure and turn the equality card back on the Left:
1) ASK if they want women to have all the information possible when undergoing medical procedures – they can hardly say no, right? Pro-choice? All the more reason to give women a fully informed choice! CWA is fully pro-life; applying pressure to their faulty arguments can help crack their foundations. It’s a little Matthew 10:16 strategy.
2) ASK your senator how he/she would vote if it came to the floor and what they will do to help get it out of committee and to the floor. After all, this isn’t an anti-abortion bill; it’s simply a pro-information bill. Surely they want us to have information that could reveal a tubal or ectopic pregnancy that would be dangerous to the mother. They often say abortion is a personal decision – so why don’t they trust us as women to make good decisions with good information?
3) ASK your senator the time and location of their next forum or coffee in their home district. Attend and ask questions in a clever fashion that gently guides them into supporting the bill publicly and allowing women information or admitting they’re not pro-woman after all; maybe even willing to put women at risk in order to appease the abortion industry. Remember, this bill doesn’t outlaw or restrict abortion in any way – it simply informs women. (If you have a pro-life legislator who struggles with this, let them know 78% of women choose life after seeing an ultrasound.)
PRAY that all will see the need to protect life in the womb and that legislators will have open hearts and open minds to the principles of the God of our Founders. PRAY God would strengthen families and help bring respect to the marriage covenant so that unwed pregnancies decline. PRAY that pastors would stand on the Word of God and be bold in protecting life and marriage.