In the escalating war on women’s rights in statehouse across the country, Iowa state Rep. Kim Pearson (R) may have just dropped the biggest bomb yet. Pearson, a freshman Tea Party lawmaker so extreme that she’s already drawn scorn from fellow Republicans and decided not to run for re-election, introduced a bill in February morning that would completely outlaw all abortions.
Among other things, the bill makes it so a doctor that performs and abortion commits “feticide” — a Class A felony, which is punishable by life imprisonment without the chance for parole:
While the prospects of Pearson’s bill are unclear, a state House committee is currently debating a separate anti-abortion measure that would make doctors show a woman sonogram of the fetus before terminating a pregnancy.
The focus on abortion does seem to violate a pledge made by Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R) when he said in November, “we’re also not interested in squandering Iowans’ time” on divisive social issues.
Title: Iowa Abortion Bill Would Criminalize All Abortion, Sentence Doctors To Life In Prison
Author: Jessica Wakeman
Publication: The Frisky, 2/17/12
URL: http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-02-17/iowa-abortion-bill-would-criminalize-all-abortion-sentence-doctors-to-life-in-prison/
Title: The Nation’s Most Radical Abortion Bill?
Author: Alex Seitz-Wald
Publication: Think Progress, 2/16/12
URL: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/16/426548/iowa-abortion-ban/
Title: Iowa House Republican Introduces Bill To Ban Abortion, Even in Cases Of Rape
Author: Stephen D. Foster Jr.
Publication: Addicting Info, 2/16/12
URL: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/16/iowa-house-republican-introduces-bill-to-ban-abortion-even-in-cases-of-rape/
Student Researcjer: Nick Paine, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Suzel Boxada-Deas, Sonoma State University