Gov. Tom Vilsack has a mixed record on reproductive rights
* In 2000, 2001 and 2002, Vilsack vetoed legislation that would have required women be given certain information before having abortions. Two of the bills would have required such information to be provided at least 24 hours in advance.
* In March 2002, Vilsack issued an executive order telling the Department of Public Health to establish a system for distributing health information to women seeking abortions, but without any criminal penalties for doctors who fail to pass the information along.
* In May 2001, Vilsack signed into law a measure prohibiting university student health centers from using state money to provide RU-486, also called mifepristone or the “abortion pill.”
From The Des Moines Register, 4/7/04
Blog For Iowa 
Hi Folks. This is Dawn Mueller from Cedar Rapids.
The following 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