Iowa Governor Signs Bill Banning Abortions Once a Fetal Heartbeat is Detected

By Nancy Flanders
Live Action News

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a historic bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, the strongest protection for preborn children in the U.S. Two other states, North Dakota and Arkansas, passed heartbeat/first trimester preborn protection bills in previous years, but unfortunately, those bills were blocked by the courts.

Reynolds, who has stated that she is “100 percent pro-life,” affirmed her position on the issue: “I’m pro-life. I’m proud to be pro-life. I’ve made that very clear,” Reynolds told the Chicago Tribune.

Live Action President Lila Rose praised the passage of the bill, noting that the measure is in line with science and reason:

“This law acknowledges the scientific fact that the pro-abortion movement tries desperately to ignore: This is a unique, individual human life in the womb, not a ‘clump of cells,’ Rose said, ‘and just three weeks after fertilization, the child’s little heart is already beating. It’s time for society and our laws to acknowledge that there are two human beings in a pregnancy, and both deserve protection.”

Earlier this week, the Iowa House passed the measure in a vote of 51-46 and the Senate followed just hours later in the early morning on May 2, 2018, with a vote of 27-19.

A University of Oxford study showed that a preborn child’s heart, originally thought to begin beating at 3 weeks, may actually begin to beat around 16 days gestation. Iowa is now the safest state in the nation for preborn children.

Website: Live Action News

Tennessee Bill Would Ban Abortions After Baby’s Heartbeat is Detected

By Anna Reynolds

Live Action News

Legislators in Tennessee will consider a bill to ban all abortions and protect preborn children once a fetal heartbeat is detected. House Bill 0108 was introduced by Rep. James Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) in January, and last week House members moved the measure to committee. As written, the bill “requires fetal heartbeat testing prior to an abortion and prohibits abortions from the point a fetal heartbeat is detected except in certain medical emergencies.”

The introduction of Van Huss’s bill places Tennessee among several states that have considered “heartbeat” legislation. The first federal heartbeat bill was also introduced last year.

Science tells us that life begins at the moment of fertilization, and a heartbeat is an undeniable indication of life. Studies show that a baby’s heart begins to beat 22 days after fertilization, and recent research even suggests that a child’s heart may begin beating as early as 16 days. The Tennessee bill would require abortionists to give women the opportunity to see or hear the fetal heartbeat.

Van Huss introduced a similar bill last year, which was rejected following the opinion of Tennessee’s attorney general, who claimed that the legislation may be challenged in federal court. Federal appeals courts overturned heartbeat bills passed in North Dakota and Arkansas; however, the Supreme Court has yet to rule on this type of legislation and refused to hear the appeal.

Website: Live Action News