IOWA, May 14, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – “We’re not slowing down, we’re not going to stop,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said as she defended signing Iowa’s new law stopping abortions on babies with detectable heartbeats.
“It’s a fight worth fighting,” she said, noting that the Heartbeat Law she signed makes Iowa America’s most pro-life state.
“We know that our work is not done, that we must continue to work together to change the hearts and minds,” said Reynolds. “As governor, I pledge to you to do everything in my power to protect life.”
She said last week that she’d received “very positive feedback” for signing the Heartbeat Law.
The Heartbeat Law makes it illegal to abort babies with detectable heartbeats – usually heard by new parents at their first or second medical appointment around six or eight weeks into pregnancy (fetal hearts begin developing as early as three weeks after fertilization).
However, the law does allow exceptions for babies conceived in rape if reported within 45 days, babies conceived in incest if the incest is reported within 140 days, or fetal abnormalities deemed “incompatible with life,” and for physical threats to the mother’s life. Despite these exceptions, though, the law will still make Iowa the safest state for a majority of babies in the womb.
Planned Parenthood is expected to sue over the law, which will go into effect on July 1, 2018. The law may make its way to the Supreme Court, where pro-life activists predict it could lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, particularly if there is another Trump-appointed justice on the court by the time case is heard.