A controversial bill was signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds this week, which heralded the latest attempt by the Republican-controlled Legislature to place restrictions on abortions.
House File 594 was approved along party lines in the final days of the legislative session, and was approved by the Governor on Monday. It states that any medical procedure related to terminating a pregnancy must include a 24-hour wait period and written certification from the woman to the physician performing the operation. The Legislature attempted similar language several years ago, though with a 72-hour waiting period, which was struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Republican legislators, including District 19 Representative Chris Hagenow, are hopeful that the reduced timeframe is the key in the eyes of the judges. “We believe that that will meet constitutional muster and will allow us to continue to be pro-life, which has always been one of my core convictions as a legislator. So I think it’s a modest step, but an important one to kind of remedy what I think was a incorrect decision by the Iowa Supreme Court.”
Opponents to the legislation – including Democrats at the Legislature and the Planned Parenthood organization – have promised litigation against the law, so its fate likely once again rests in the hands of the courts. Hagenow also notes that the proposed constitutional amendment to remove language protecting the right to an abortion didn’t make it through the recent assembly, in part due to the extended coronavirus-related recess. The amendment now starts over from square one, but is likely to be proposed at some point in the 2021-22 general assembly. To learn more about this and other topics from the recent legislative session, click the links below to listen to the recent two-part Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Hagenow.
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/06/24/lets-talk-dallas-county-6-24-2020-chris-hagenow-part-one/
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/06/25/lets-talk-dallas-county-6-25-2020-chris-hagenow-part-two/