Earlier this week the Iowa Legislature entered into a special session to discuss and act upon a bill known as the Fetal Heartbeat Bill.

House Representative for District 23 Ray Sorensen says that despite opponents of the bill saying it bans abortions at six weeks, nowhere in the bill does it say anything about a ban, or six weeks. He explains that the bill is short and simple, stating that once a heartbeat is detected, an abortion cannot be performed. However there are exceptions if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, there is a miscarriage or there is a fetal abnormality that a physician, in reasonable medical judgment, deems incompatible with life.

Sorensen mentions that there is a time frame that a fetal heartbeat can be discovered. He says that generally that is six weeks at the earliest point, but that according to medical groups, eight to ten weeks is just as common, and that one group claims fetal heartbeats don’t start until 17 weeks. Sorensen tells Raccoon Valley Radio why he voted in favor of the bill.

“There is an incredible spectrum of belief and opinion on the subject. It varies wildly where you’re at on the subject. Like I said, it’s a spectrum. It comes down to what do you believe is, where are you comfortable at when terminating a baby? Is it heartbeat? Is it at a certain number of weeks? Or is it never? I mean, are you okay with terminating the life of a baby at birth?”

Sorensen mentions that there were several attempted amendments, but that none were accepted, as many were already covered by the original bill. He adds that many of the amendments were an attempt to include wording that would cause a bad vote, but that he’s content with having the bill pass.