Fetus death bill clears Iowa House
Quad-City Times
.
DES MOINES – A bill that would allow prosecutors to charge people responsible for the death of an unborn child with crimes as serious as first-degree murder cleared the Iowa House on Tuesday.
.
Anti-abortion advocates say the new law would reflect the value that should be placed on the lives of unborn children and protect pregnant women from becoming a target of violence. Opponents of the bill say it is a backdoor attempt to erode abortion rights for women and create legal rights for a fetus, even though the legislation contains an exemption for legal abortions.
.
The U.S. Congress recently passed similar legislation, the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act,” that was signed into law last week by pResident Bush.
.
Rep. Don Shoultz, D-Waterloo, who opposed the bill, said unborn children are not treated the same as people in other areas of state law so they should not be in Iowa's criminal laws either. For example, unborn children are not issued Social Security numbers and cannot be deducted from a parents income taxes, he said. “Our laws are very definite about that, so our laws should be consistent here,” he said.
.
Passage of the bill on a 63-36 vote sends it to Gov. Tom Vilsack for consideration. (more)
Blog For Iowa 
63-36 means that some democrats supported this bill. If you live in their districts, please let them know how you feel about it.
LikeLike
EVERYONE — EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
PLEASE…IMMEDIATELY…CALL GOVERNOR VILSACK AND ASK HIM TO VETO THIS BILL. The bill is SF 2254 (“A bill for an act relating to crimes against an unborn child…)
1-(515)-281-5211
AND send e-mail here:
http://www.governor.state.ia.us/comments/capitol_correspond/index.html
LikeLike
This request is from Karen Kubby, director of the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City:
Friends of reproductive rights,
Please take the time to communicate to Governor Vilsack to veto the Unborn Victim of Violence Act, S.F. 2254, which was passed yesterday. Contact information is below.
This act changes the word “fetus” and replaces it with “unborn child” which would be defined as a person, that “includes a member of the species homo
sapiens, at ANY stage of development when carried in the womb or after birth (emphasis added).
This bill would create separate penalties for injury or death to the fetus, defining the fetus as a separate person. You can view S.F. 2254 at
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/GA/80GA/Legislation/SF/02200/SF02254/Current.html
Iowa law currently allows for a separate charge for the unlawful termination of pregnancy, a Class C felony.
The intention of this bill is not to create enhanced penalties for those who perpetrate violence against pregnant women. The intention of this bill is to begin the definition of the fetus as a person with full rights. Even though the bill provides an except for legal abortion, it can eventually lead to the US Supreme Court overturning Roe, which states that the fetus
is not be viewed as a person under the law.
Governor Vilsack needs to hear from us very soon. He might only have until next week to veto S.F. 2254.
Some talking points and then contact information:
1. Roe explicitly says that a fetus is not a person.
2. Iowa law already allows for a separate penalty for unlawful termination of pregnancy.
3. Enhanced penalties for violence against pregnant women is a better legal route for accountability than creating fetal personhood that can lead to erosion of women's rights in the future.
“Please veto the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Iowa already allows for a separate penalty for unlawfully terminating a pregnancy, a class c felony.
Signing this bill does nothing to further accountability to those who are violent towards pregnant women. What it does is create a legal conversation to create fetal rights, which will eventually make women invisible and unable to lawfully control their fertility.”
The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Governor
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-5211
http://www.governor.state.ia.us/comments/capitol_correspond/index.html
Thank you in advance for taking swift action today.
LikeLike