Thousands of unborn babies to be saved as Iowa heartbeat bill takes effect

Image Credit: Jonathan Sanchez via Unsplash

A heartbeat law has taken into effect in Iowa, US, which is estimated to save thousands of unborn babies from abortion.

The heartbeat bill prohibits abortion once a heartbeat is detected, which is usually by 6 weeks gestation. After some legal battles since the law was approved in 2023, the bill was ultimately ruled as constitutional by the Iowa Supreme Court 4-3 on 28th June this year. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill in July and it went into effect on Monday 29th July.

“Today is a victory for life,” said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. “There is nothing more sacred and no cause more worthy than protecting innocent unborn lives.”

However, the law does allow for some exceptions, such as in the case of rape or incest. It also allows abortion if the women’s life is in danger, even though medical experts such as former abortionist Dr Anthony Levatino argue that abortion is not medically necessary - because If the mother’s life is at risk, then a safe delivery of the baby via c-section and an attempt to save the baby’s life is accepted by the pro-life movement and not the same as an abortion, which deliberately kills the unborn child.

“I have terminated hundreds of pregnancies in my career to save women's lives and I didn't have to kill a single baby in the process,” Dr Levatino told the Citizens Assembly in Ireland in 2017.  

According to LifeSiteNews, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America estimates that there will be 2,000 less abortions per year in Iowa, due to the implementation of the heartbeat law.  US states that have already implemented a heartbeat law have seen a decrease of abortion rates from 50-80%. Among those are Georgia and South Carolina. Fourteen other states, including Missouri and South Dakota are in the process of implementing a near abortion ban in the state.