The legislation requires that any person seeking an abortion would have to first have an ultrasound. If it picks up a pulse from the embryo, then the patient would be unable to get an abortion.
Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, led the bill through the Senate. She said the bill is based on the belief that an embryonic pulse represents the beginning of life.
What’s important to note
The bill is not written as a total ban on abortion, but opponents say it’s close because most people don’t know they’re pregnant at six weeks, when cardiac activity may begin.
There are also exceptions in the law in the case of rape or incest, both of which come with time limits.An efficient special session
The one-day session began around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11 and wrapped around 11 p.m. that night. Republican leaders pointed out that the bill is nearly identical to the 2018 abortion ban that was, at the time, the most restrictive ban in the country. Gov. Kim Reynolds called the special session after the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked and kept an injunction on that law in place this summer.
Though public hearings were a flashpoint early on, the Capitol was mostly empty by the time the final votes were made.
Reynolds is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday.
