By Dave Andrusko
When it comes to pumping for abortion, the Des Moines Register can best be described as the Midwest equivalent of the New York Times: hard core to the point of fanaticism. So needless to say, Iowa’s largest and most influential newspaper has not gracefully accepted the actions of the pro-life legislature and the governor in passing one measure after another, culminating last Friday when pro-life Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Iowa’s Heartbeat Law.
The shock troops of the Abortion Industry in Iowa—Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and the ACLU of Iowa—immediately went to Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin to ask him for a temporary injunction to block the law which had taken effect immediately.
For his part, Judge Seidlin said, “I can’t think of anything that would be more insulting to either side for a judge — who, before Wednesday at 11 o’clock, had no idea that he was going to be involved in any of this — to listen to arguments and then rule from the bench … so flippantly without giving it any thought.”
The 2018 law was designed to protect unborn babies from abortion after the heartbeat has been detected, typically around the sixth week. The bill includes very limited exceptions: to preserve the life of the mother and for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Just before signing the bill, Gov. Reynolds told a crowd at the Family Leadership Summit, “This week, in a rare and historic special session, the Iowa legislature voted for a second time to reject the inhumanity of abortion and pass the fetal heartbeat law.” She added, “The most glaring injustice of all is about to be put right. Everyone understands that a heartbeat signifies life, and we understand that when it falls silent, something precious has been lost.”
Give its history of partisan abortion advocacy, imagine my surprise when the Register actually published “Iowans are pro-life, and today was a long time coming.” The subhead for Maggie DeWitte’s op-ed was “Women do not need abortion. It does not empower them. It does not give them equality with men. It hurts them and causes lifelong pain. And the answer to our social problems is not to kill the child.”
“This has been a long time coming. Iowa is finally catching up with the rest of the world in protecting our posterity,” DeWitte wrote. “Innocent lives have been lost while this law was held up by injunctions and judges legislating from the bench. An estimated 2,000 Iowa babies’ lives would have been saved EVERY year that heartbeat legislation was enforced.”
DeWitte added
Women do not need abortion. It does not empower them. It does not give them equality with men. It hurts them and causes lifelong pain. And the answer to our social problems is not to kill the child.
The answer? “To embrace women in crisis.”
That is why we worked hard to pass the MOMS (More Options for Maternal Support) bill, and in this last session, passing $1 million in funding that will connect pregnant women and new moms to essential support services in pregnancy resource centers.
It is designed to empower women and protect children, increase compassionate care to improve pregnancy outcomes and child health and development. It includes counseling, parenting education, material items and referrals for medical care. That is what the pro-life movement is about. Caring for the women AND caring for the babies; we love them both,”
The White House and the local Planned Parenthood types bemoaned the new law, saying, for example, “Today, Iowans have been denied the freedom to decide what is best for their own lives and futures,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
A far better response came from Kristi Judkins, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, NRLC’s state affiliate:
“Iowa Right to Life wants to thank pro-life champions Governor Kim Reynolds and the pro-life members of the Iowa legislature. They were committed to seeing this legislation pass and we honor them! We are proud to stand beside Governor Reynolds, the pro-life legislators, and members of our Iowa Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders.
“The mission of our adversaries is to see more babies killed by abortion, but we will continue to advocate for life and will not stop fighting until abortion becomes unthinkable. We want to see lives saved and women no longer placed in harm’s way because of abortion.”