DES MOINES, Iowa >> Republican lawmakers with control of the Iowa statehouse fast-tracked a bill early Wednesday that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy, sending what could be the nation’s most restrictive abortion legislation to the governor.

Critics say the so-called “heartbeat” bill would ban the medical procedure before some women even know they’re pregnant, and it sets the state up for a legal challenge over its constitutionality.

“How dare we think that the privacy and decisions of a woman and her medical choices are up to us to determine?” said Rep. Vicki Lensing, an Iowa City Democrat, during House floor debate that began early afternoon Tuesday and stretched until shortly before midnight. “I am personally offended by this bill that seems to second-guess a woman’s ability to make an unintended and difficult decision.”

The measure was passed with nearly back-to-back chamber votes along party lines, culminating in approval in the Senate shortly after 2 a.m. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is anti-abortion but hasn’t said publicly if she will sign it into law. Her press secretary, Brenna Smith, indicated in an email the governor was open to signing it.

“Governor Reynolds is 100 percent pro-life and will never stop fighting for the unborn,” Smith said.

The legislation passed overnight has some exemptions, allowing abortions after a detectable heartbeat in order to save a pregnant woman’s life, and in some cases of rape and incest. Another provision prohibits some uses of fetal tissue, with exemptions for research.

Republicans at the Iowa Capitol have long sought to approve legislation that would further restrict abortion, and their flip of the state Senate chamber in the 2016 election gave them a trifecta of GOP power for the first time in nearly 20 years. Last session, they passed a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is in effect. A provision in that legislation requiring a three-day waiting period for abortions — among the longest wait periods in the country — was challenged in court. It remains on hold amid litigation being considered by the state Supreme Court.

“A baby has become something we can throw away. This bill says it’s time to change the way we think about unborn life,” said Rep. Sandy Salmon, a Janesville Republican.

If passed, the legislation could face challenges claiming it violates U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including Roe v. Wade. Some Republicans say they want the bill to abolish the landmark 1973 ruling that says women have a right to terminate pregnancies until a fetus is viable.

“I would love for the United States Supreme Court to look at this bill and have this as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Sen. Jake Chapman, a Republican from Adel.

Several states have attempted to advance abortion bans in recent years. Mississippi passed a law earlier this year banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it’s on hold after a court challenge. A federal appeals court, whose territory includes Iowa, rejected heartbeat bills passed in 2013 in North Dakota and Arkansas. The U.S. Supreme Court then declined to review the cases. </s> (DES MOINES, Iowa) — Iowa lawmakers have paved the way for the nation’s most restrictive abortion legislation in the country.

The Republican-majority Iowa Senate fast-tracked a vote early Wednesday morning on a so-called “heartbeat” bill that seeks to ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The GOP-controlled Iowa House approved the bill hours earlier.

The legislation effectively would ban most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy. Critics say that would ban the medical procedure before some women know they’re pregnant.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds hasn’t indicated whether she’ll sign the bill into law. If enacted, the legislation is expected to be challenged in court over whether it violates U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Iowa Republicans passed legislation last year that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. </s> Iowa 'Fetal Heartbeat' Bill To Ban Abortions After 6 Weeks Poised For Passage

Iowa's Republican-dominated Senate early Wednesday fast-tracked a bill that would make most abortions illegal once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The measure, which would effectively ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, was passed earlier in the day by Iowa's GOP-controlled House. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has not said whether she would sign the bill.

If it becomes law, the measure would make Iowa one of the most restrictive states in the country when it comes to abortion. Critics argue that it would prohibit abortions until after many women even realize they are pregnant. Current law in Iowa allows most abortions up to 20 weeks.

Republican state Rep. Shannon Lundgren said earlier this week that she believes the bill will pass.

"We're in the majority for a reason and that includes advancing the pro-life cause," she was quoted in The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier as saying.

"Republicans who debated Senate File 359 late into the night Tuesday said they hope their law will face a legal challenge so it can advance to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their goal is to overturn the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, which established that women have a constitutional right to an abortion. The Supreme Court has declined to hear similar cases in recent years. But as states continue to pass legislation restricting abortions and President Donald Trump appoints more conservative federal judges, such as Justice Neil Gorsuch, abortion opponents are increasingly optimistic."

Groups such as Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, have come out against the bill.

Initially, the bill did not contain exceptions in cases of rape or incest, but amendments put forward by Republicans included them, according to the Register. </s> The Republican-led legislature in Iowa has passed a bill that, if signed into law, will become the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban: It forbids doctors from performing the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

In many cases, that can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women even know they’re expecting.

Right now, Iowa bars most abortions after 20 weeks, already making it one the most restrictive states. But Senate File 359, or the “heartbeat bill,” ups the ante.

And it’s most certainly going to be challenged in court, opponents say.

In 2013, North Dakota passed a similar law that banned abortions after six weeks. The case made its way to the US Supreme Court, where it was blocked permanently.

“By passing an intentionally unconstitutional bill, Iowa Republicans have declared that they do not care about the foundational values of our state, or Iowa’s future,” Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa said.

“They do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit.”

Lawmakers know it will lead to a legal fight

Many lawmakers who support the “heartbeat bill” hope it does lead to a legal battle that winds its way to the highest court of the land. Emboldened by the court’s makeup, they think it will help overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision by the Supreme Court that legalized the right to an abortion in all 50 states.

“This bill will be the vehicle that will ultimately provide change and provide the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Sen. Rick Bertrand, a Republican, said during the floor debate. “There’s nothing hidden here about the agenda.”

The Iowa legislation has some exemptions, such as in the case of rape or incest or if a woman’s life is at risk. The bill doesn’t call for criminal prosecution of a woman getting an abortion, but doesn’t include language about what happens to doctors who flout the law.

The bill now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, who hasn’t said whether she will sign it. But her spokeswoman told CNN: “Gov. Reynolds is 100% pro-life and will never stop fighting for the unborn.” </s> Transcript for Iowa could pass one of 'the most restrictive' abortion laws in the US

Lawmakers and Iowa have improved the most strict abortion bill in the country the so called heartbeat bill Bloc's most abortions after fetal heartbeat is detected. Which is typically six weeks into the pregnancy. Critics point out that at six weeks most women don't even know they're pregnant as yet the governor has not said whether she plans to sign that bill. </s> Republican legislators sent Iowa's governor a bill early Wednesday that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy, propelling the state overnight to the front of a push among conservative statehouses jockeying to enact the nation's most restrictive regulations on the procedure.

Critics say the so-called "heartbeat" bill, which now awaits the signature of anti-abortion GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, would ban abortions before some women even know they're pregnant. That could set up the state for a legal challenge over its constitutionality, including from the same federal appeals court that three years ago struck down similar legislation approved in Arkansas and North Dakota.

Backers of the legislation, which failed to get a single Democratic vote in either Iowa chamber, expressed hope it could challenge Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established women have a right to terminate pregnancies until a fetus is viable. Conservatives say an influx of right-leaning judicial appointments under President Donald Trump could make it a possibility.

"Today we will begin this journey as Iowa becomes ground zero, now nationally, in the life movement," Sen. Rick Bertrand, a Republican from Sioux City, said during floor debate.

Erin Davison-Rippey, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said in a statement Iowa Republicans "do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit ... or how many families may choose to go elsewhere because Iowa is no longer a state where they are safe to live and work."

The House began debate over the measure early Tuesday afternoon, voting it out shortly before midnight with six Republicans there opposing it. The Senate then picked it up, with approval shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday. The nearly back-to-back votes come as Iowa lawmakers are on overtime at the state Capitol, trying to pass a spending budget and tax cuts later this week.

Reynolds declined Wednesday to say whether she'll sign the bill into law. She did note: "I'm pro-life. I'm proud to be pro-life. I've made that very clear."

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller told reporters Wednesday he's reviewing whether his office would defend the bill if signed into law, acknowledging his staff is reviewing its constitutionality.

"We're considering whether we should recuse ourselves," he said. "We do this very rarely, but we're looking at this case to see whether that should be one of those rare exceptions."

Several states have attempted to advance abortion bans in recent years. Mississippi passed a law earlier this year banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it's on hold after a court challenge. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear similar heartbeat bills North Dakota and Arkansas approved in 2013, after they were rejected by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal court challenge would likely make its way to that appeals court, which has become increasingly conservative during Donald Trump's administration.

Of the 11 active judges on the court, only one Democratic appointment remains. Jane Kelly was named by Barack Obama in 2013. One judge is a Ronald Reagan pick, six were appointees of George W. Bush and three were named to the court by Donald Trump. Two Trump judges replaced Bill Clinton appointees. The third replaced a Bush judge.

The court begrudgingly rejected as unconstitutional the heartbeat bills from North Dakota and Arkansas.

In both cases the appeals court judges made it clear they were only striking down the laws because the U.S. Supreme Court precedent bound them to do so. They strongly suggested that the high court reverse previous abortion rulings by eliminating a federal constitutional right to abortion and allowing states to decide when a fetus is viable.

The Iowa legislation contains some exemptions, including allowing abortions after a detectable heartbeat to save a pregnant woman's life or in some cases of rape and incest. Another provision prohibits some uses of fetal tissue, with exemptions for research. A woman would have to report a rape within 45 days to law enforcement or a physician to qualify for an exemption to the abortion ban. Incest must be reported within 140 days to receive an exemption.

Rep. Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, said nothing would stop a woman from lying to a physician, who can't investigate or report the alleged crime. Conversely, she said a child who is raped but delays reporting it until showing signs of pregnancy could be denied an abortion.

The bill provides immunity to women receiving abortions but not to doctors who perform them. Their licenses could be revoked for violations, and prosecutors could consider criminal charges against them. That's not addressed by the bill, a point Democrats criticized.

Iowa Republicans have long sought to approve legislation that would further restrict abortion, and their flip of the state Senate chamber in the 2016 election gave them a trifecta of GOP power for the first time in nearly 20 years. Last session, they passed a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is in effect.

A provision in that legislation requiring a three-day waiting period for abortions — among the longest wait periods in the country — was challenged in court. It remains on hold amid litigation being considered by the state Supreme Court.

Iowa Republicans have indicated the 20-week ban was just the start toward the legislation finalized Wednesday.

"A baby has become something we can throw away. This bill says it's time to change the way we think about unborn life," said Rep. Sandy Salmon, a Janesville Republican. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The struggle over abortion rights, always an impassioned affair in the US, has intensified since Donald Trump came into the White House

The US state of Iowa has approved an abortion law banning most abortions once a foetal heartbeat is detected.

Republican lawmakers passed the bill in back-to-back votes, sending it to the governor's desk to sign into law.

If it comes into effect the bill will ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and rights groups say it will be the country's most restrictive.

Critics argue it will make having an abortion illegal before most women even realise they are pregnant.

Iowa's Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has not said if she will sign the bill.

Last year, Iowa Republicans successfully banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

What new restrictions have been approved?

The so-called "heartbeat" bill would require any woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound to screen for a foetal heartbeat. If one is detected, she will be barred from obtaining a termination.

Some exceptions have been introduced - in cases of rape and incest, where it has been reported to authorities, and to save the woman's life.

"We're in the majority for a reason and that includes advancing the pro-life cause," Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

"We are alive when our hearts start beating and our life is over when it stops," Dawn Pettengil, another Republican Representative from Iowa, told CBS News.

What do opponents say?

Democratic Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell spoke against the legislation on the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"All women, regardless of age, income or race, should be able to obtain reproductive health services, including abortion, free from political and economic barriers," Ms Wessel-Kroeschell said.

Iowa's Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union groups have also spoken out against the bill.

"These extreme attempts to ban abortion fly in the face of both medical and legal standards, as well as common sense and public opinion among Iowans," said Erin Davison-Rippey, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland's director of public affairs in an online statement released in February, when the bill was first introduced.

"So-called 'heartbeat protection' bills are actually bans on safe, legal abortion, and they threaten to set reproductive rights back by decades."

Elizabeth Nash, of the sexual and reproductive health policy group the Guttmacher Institute, told the BBC this was "the most restrictive abortion ban in the country".

The US abortion debate: Both sides speak

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why one woman decided to terminate her pregnancy - and defends Planned Parenthood

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeanne Mancini organises March for Life, a major anti-abortion rally in the US

She and Iowa Democrats have suggested the bill is intentionally unconstitutional.

If Ms Reynolds signs the bill into law, it will likely be challenged in court for possibly violating Roe v Wade, the US Supreme Court ruling that legalised abortion in 1973.

The ruling states some women have a right to terminate pregnancies until a foetus is viable.

Isn't that a problem for the bill's supporters?

No, in fact some Republican lawmakers welcomed the challenge.

"I would love for the United States Supreme Court to look at this bill and have this as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade," Republican Senator Jake Chapman said.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Pink House: The last abortion clinic in Mississippi

A string of US states have enacted abortion bans or stringent restrictions over recent decades only to have them overturned by the courts, prompting some conservatives to take aim at the landmark ruling.

"We created an opportunity to take a run at Roe v Wade," Republican state Senator Rick Bertrand acknowledged.

Iowa is among a number of states, including Mississippi and Kentucky, that have triggered court challenges by imposing tight restrictions on abortion.

President Donald Trump supports an abortion ban and has indicated that this is a priority, and Republicans are seizing the opportunity that creates, say commentators. </s> DES MOINES, Iowa >> Republican legislators sent Iowa’s governor a bill early Wednesday that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy, propelling the state overnight to the front of a push among conservative statehouses jockeying to enact the nation’s most restrictive regulations on the procedure.

Critics say the so-called “heartbeat” bill, which now awaits the signature of anti-abortion GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, would ban abortions before some women even know they’re pregnant. That could set up the state for a legal challenge over its constitutionality, including from the same federal appeals court that three years ago struck down similar legislation approved in Arkansas and North Dakota.

Backers of the legislation, which failed to get a single Democratic vote in either Iowa chamber, expressed hope it could challenge Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established women have a right to terminate pregnancies until a fetus is viable. Conservatives say an influx of right-leaning judicial appointments under President Donald Trump could make it a possibility.

“Today we will begin this journey as Iowa becomes ground zero, now nationally, in the life movement,” Sen. Rick Bertrand, a Republican from Sioux City, said during floor debate.

Erin Davison-Rippey, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said in a statement Iowa Republicans “do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit ... or how many families may choose to go elsewhere because Iowa is no longer a state where they are safe to live and work.”

The House began debate over the measure early Tuesday afternoon, voting it out shortly before midnight with six Republicans there opposing it. The Senate then picked it up, with approval shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday. The nearly back-to-back votes come as Iowa lawmakers are on overtime at the state Capitol, trying to pass a spending budget and tax cuts later this week.

Reynolds declined Wednesday to say whether she’ll sign the bill into law. She did note: “I’m pro-life. I’m proud to be pro-life. I’ve made that very clear.”

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller told reporters Wednesday he’s reviewing whether his office would defend the bill if signed into law, acknowledging his staff is reviewing its constitutionality.

“We’re considering whether we should recuse ourselves,” he said. “We do this very rarely, but we’re looking at this case to see whether that should be one of those rare exceptions.”

Several states have attempted to advance abortion bans in recent years. Mississippi passed a law earlier this year banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it’s on hold after a court challenge. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear similar heartbeat bills North Dakota and Arkansas approved in 2013, after they were rejected by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal court challenge would likely make its way to that appeals court, which has become increasingly conservative during Donald Trump’s administration.

Of the 11 active judges on the court, only one Democratic appointment remains. Jane Kelly was named by Barack Obama in 2013. One judge is a Ronald Reagan pick, six were appointees of George W. Bush and three were named to the court by Donald Trump. Two Trump judges replaced Bill Clinton appointees. The third replaced a Bush judge.

The court begrudgingly rejected as unconstitutional the heartbeat bills from North Dakota and Arkansas.

In both cases the appeals court judges made it clear they were only striking down the laws because the U.S. Supreme Court precedent bound them to do so. They strongly suggested that the high court reverse previous abortion rulings by eliminating a federal constitutional right to abortion and allowing states to decide when a fetus is viable.

The Iowa legislation contains some exemptions, including allowing abortions after a detectable heartbeat to save a pregnant woman’s life or in some cases of rape and incest. Another provision prohibits some uses of fetal tissue, with exemptions for research. A woman would have to report a rape within 45 days to law enforcement or a physician to qualify for an exemption to the abortion ban. Incest must be reported within 140 days to receive an exemption.

Rep. Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, said nothing would stop a woman from lying to a physician, who can’t investigate or report the alleged crime. Conversely, she said a child who is raped but delays reporting it until showing signs of pregnancy could be denied an abortion.

The bill provides immunity to women receiving abortions but not to doctors who perform them. Their licenses could be revoked for violations, and prosecutors could consider criminal charges against them. That’s not addressed by the bill, a point Democrats criticized.

Iowa Republicans have long sought to approve legislation that would further restrict abortion, and their flip of the state Senate chamber in the 2016 election gave them a trifecta of GOP power for the first time in nearly 20 years. Last session, they passed a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is in effect.

A provision in that legislation requiring a three-day waiting period for abortions — among the longest wait periods in the country — was challenged in court. It remains on hold amid litigation being considered by the state Supreme Court.

Iowa Republicans have indicated the 20-week ban was just the start toward the legislation finalized Wednesday.

“A baby has become something we can throw away. This bill says it’s time to change the way we think about unborn life,” said Rep. Sandy Salmon, a Janesville Republican.

Associated Press reporter David Pitt in Des Moines contributed to this report. </s> The US state of Iowa has approved an abortion law banning most abortions once a foetal heartbeat is detected.

Republican lawmakers passed the bill in back-to-back votes, sending it to the governor’s desk to sign into law.

If it comes into effect the bill will ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and rights groups say it will be the country’s most restrictive.

Critics argue it will make having an abortion illegal before most women even realise they are pregnant.

Iowa’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has not said if she will sign the bill.

Last year, Iowa Republicans successfully banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The past and future of US abortion debate

 What new restrictions have been approved?

 The so-called “heartbeat” bill would require any woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound to screen for a foetal heartbeat. If one is detected, she will be barred from obtaining a termination.

Some exceptions have been introduced – in cases of rape and incest, where it has been reported to authorities, and to save the woman’s life.

“We’re in the majority for a reason and that includes advancing the pro-life cause,” Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

“We are alive when our hearts start beating and our life is over when it stops,” Dawn Pettengil, another Republican Representative from Iowa, told CBS News.

What do opponents say?

 Democratic Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell spoke against the legislation on the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“All women, regardless of age, income or race, should be able to obtain reproductive health services, including abortion, free from political and economic barriers,” Ms Wessel-Kroeschell said.

Iowa’s Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union groups have also spoken out against the bill.

“These extreme attempts to ban abortion fly in the face of both medical and legal standards, as well as common sense and public opinion among Iowans,” said Erin Davison-Rippey, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s director of public affairs

 in an online statement released in February, when the bill was first introduced .

“So-called ‘heartbeat protection’ bills are actually bans on safe, legal abortion, and they threaten to set reproductive rights back by decades.”

Elizabeth Nash, of the sexual and reproductive health policy group the Guttmacher Institute, told the BBC this was “the most restrictive abortion ban in the country”.

The US abortion debate: Both sides speak

 She and Iowa Democrats have suggested the bill is intentionally unconstitutional.

If Ms Reynolds signs the bill into law, it will likely be challenged in court for possibly violating Roe v Wade, the US Supreme Court ruling that legalised abortion in 1973.

The ruling states some women have a right to terminate pregnancies until a foetus is viable.

Isn’t that a problem for the bill’s supporters?

No, in fact some Republican lawmakers welcomed the challenge.

“I would love for the United States Supreme Court to look at this bill and have this as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Republican Senator Jake Chapman said.

A string of US states have enacted abortion bans or stringent restrictions over recent decades only to have them overturned by the courts, prompting some conservatives to take aim at the landmark ruling.

“We created an opportunity to take a run at Roe v Wade,” Republican state Senator Rick Bertrand acknowledged.

How US abortion debate got to this point

 Iowa is among a number of states, including Mississippi and Kentucky, that have triggered court challenges by imposing tight restrictions on abortion.

President Donald Trump supports an abortion ban and has indicated that this is a priority, and Republicans are seizing the opportunity that creates, say commentators.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs a bill into law which bans most abortions in the state if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or roughly after around six weeks into pregnancy.