Surrounded by many lovely children on Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law known as the ‘heartbeat bill,’ which prevents abortions if the doctor can hear the child’s heartbeat.
‘That restriction — effectively limiting abortions to roughly before six weeks — is the strictest enacted in the United States and faced intense backlash from abortion rights advocates,’ IJR reports.
While Gov. Kim Reynolds was signing the law, the protesters chanted ‘My body, my choice!’, according to the New York Post.
Watch the protesters and Gov. Kim Reynolds speak below on the video:
The ‘heartbeat bill’, which is set to take effect on 1st of July, included exceptions for incest, rape, and cases when the life of the mother is in jeopardy, but Planned Parenthood saw it as an unconstitutional affront to women’s rights.
https://www.facebook.com/PPHeartland/posts/10155697519049779
‘Gov. Reynolds, if you sign this bill, Planned Parenthood will see you in court,’ president of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Suzanna de Baca, said.
One of the largest advocacy groups for abortion rights in the U.S. ‘NARAL,’ condemned the legislation as well.
"This law is not just about the women & families of Iowa, it’s about all Americans having the right to decide if, when, and how to have a family. This should be deeply concerning to anyone who believes women should be allowed to make decisions about their bodies."
—@ilyseh #IAPOL pic.twitter.com/4MIaEaqVxF— NARAL (@NARAL) May 4, 2018
‘This is bigger than just a law, this is about life, and I’m not going to back down,’ Reynolds said.
CNN reports that Gov. Kim Reynolds argued that it was ‘immoral to stop an innocent beating heart … my faith leads me to protect every Iowan, no matter how small.’ An anti-abortion group called ‘Susan B. Anthony List,’ similarly praised the legislation.
‘The bold pro-life action taken by the Iowa legislature reflects growing national pro-life sentiment and restlessness under the extreme status quo imposed by Roe v. Wade,’ SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser stated in a statement.
