The Iowa State Senate, in the United States, approved in 2018 the Heartbeat Bill (Senate File 359), which protects the lives of unborn babies from the moment their heartbeat can be heard . In order to have the majority required for the approval of the project, it included some exceptions: when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest and when there was danger to the mother’s life, always up to the limit of 20 weeks.

This law was part of a process of legislative actions taken by a group of senators when Republicans took control of the Iowa State House, Senate and Governor’s Office in 2016. First, they limited access to planning funds. family so that abortion service providers, restricted the performance of abortions, under any pretext, from 20 weeks of gestation, prohibited the sale of parts of the fetus body, designed financial support to pregnant women and families in a situation of vulnerability, etc.

That process transformed Iowa from one of the states with the least restrictive abortion laws to one of the most restrictive in the United States. It went from being one of the most dangerous places for a fetus, to one of the safest.

The Fetal Heart Law was prosecuted and blocked by a state court. However, the approval of this initiative generated a chain reaction and today 13 states of the American Union have similar laws approved, and 3 more are being processed. All have suffered judicial blockades, but the Mississippi case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court, which could lead to an eventual reversal of the precepts of the Roe vs. Wade decision and pave the way for the fetal heart laws to take effect again.

Full text:

01 | The Heartbeat Bill (SF359)
Iowa Senate | United States | 2017
Original text in English

Read online or download here the full dossier on this successful experience.