The state Senate passed the bill 29 votes to 17 and it will now go to Gov. Kim Reynolds, R, to sign into law. State legislators believe the bill’s passage could lead to a challenge of Roe v. Wade — the U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
“We created an opportunity to take a run at Roe v. Wade — 100 percent,” state Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, said.
The bill would require any woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound to detect a fetal heartbeat, and if one is detected, an abortion will not be allowed.
“The bill weaponizes fetal heartbeat, which is by all accounts an arbitrary standard that bans abortion long before the point of fetal viability,” Becca Lee, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said in an email to Reuters.
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