Curt Flewelling, FISM News

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Iowa may soon become the next state to prohibit abortions of unborn babies who have a detectable heartbeat.

The Hawkeye State already has a law in place protecting unborn children once the heartbeat is detectable, but a district judge ruled in December of 2022 that a permanent injunction on the law will remain in place.

On Monday, the Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments on whether to lift the injunction and start enforcing the current law protecting the unborn. Iowa is one of eight states who are presently debating the issue in court.

The landmark Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case has triggered a flurry of pro-life legislation in several states. Fourteen states are currently enforcing laws to protect the unborn with many others likely to follow.

On April 3, the Florida Senate approved HB 5 to ban abortions after six weeks. The bill’s sponsor, Erin Grall (R) said, “Bodily autonomy should not give a person the permission to kill an innocent human being. We live in a time where the consequences of our actions are an afterthought and convenience has been substitution for responsibility.”

HEARTBEAT LAWS

The pro-life laws that are being solidified state by state are commonly referred to as “heartbeat laws.” Although they differ slightly from state to state, they usually have three basic stipulations:

• A physician or healthcare provider must determine if a fetus has a detectable heartbeat before an abortion is performed.
• A physician or healthcare provider must inform the mother of the results of that determination.
• A physician or healthcare provider is prohibited to proceed with an abortion if it has been determined that a fetal heartbeat has been detected.

According to the pro-life Susan B. Anthony group, these laws are saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of unborn babies. Unsurprisingly, others such as Robyn Schickley, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, disagree.

“I believe a six-week abortion ban will kill patients,” Schickley said. “Doctors are at the point where we have to say, ‘Yes, you will die if you don’t have an abortion. Yes, I am capable of providing an abortion. No, I am not allowed to provide that abortion because some politicians don’t like it, but here’s a state you can travel to instead.’”

Ingrid Skop, MD, strongly refuted Schickley’s hyperbolic claims.

“Each of the states that have these safeguards in place, permit abortion in those rare and heartbreaking circumstances when it’s necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman,” Skop said,  citing her own research. “The Texas heartbeat law has been in effect for almost two years, and no one has died. Quite the opposite, research suggests that tens of thousands of babies’ lives have been saved.”