The Iowa Senate approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday stating Iowans do not have a fundamental right to abortion or public funding for it, a step toward making the question of legal abortion a ballot measure by 2024.
The state House passed the constitutional amendment proposal Tuesday, 54-38, with three Republicans joining every Democrat in voting no. On Wednesday, the Iowa Senate passed it 30-18 along party lines.
“I’m proud that the Protect Life Amendment is one step closer to being on the ballot. This is an important step forward in defending the unborn and upholding the dignity of all human life,” Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday.
The governor of Iowa does not have a role in passing constitutional amendment proposals on to Iowans’ ballots.
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Republican supporters of the amendment claimed there was “judicial overreach” of the Iowa Supreme Court in a 2018 decision that found the Iowa Constitution protects abortion rights, the Ames Tribune reported.
“I believe this is about the people of Iowa deciding this issue through their elected representatives, not an activist Iowa Supreme Court,” said Republican state Rep. Steven Holt, the measure’s floor manager.
The language of the amendment states: “Life. To defend the dignity of all human life and protect unborn children from efforts to expand abortion even to the point of birth, we the people of the state of Iowa declare that this Constitution does not recognize, grant or secure a right to abortion or require the public funding of abortion.”
State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Democratic critic of the measure, referenced a March Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll that found 31% of Iowans supported the amendment, and 58% said they opposed the measure. Roughly 11% said they were not sure.
“The party that waxes poetic about small government is one more time stepping into your doctor’s office,” Konfrst said. “They aren’t listening to what Iowans want. They aren’t listening to you.”
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The state has passed a number of restrictive abortion measures in recent years, though some, such as the so-called fetal heartbeat law was struck down by a judge. Iowa already bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
