Iowa: The Nation’s Most Radical Abortion Bill?

[racaulk]

Last edited Fri Feb 17, 2012, 03:49 PM - Edit history (1)

The Nation’s Most Radical Abortion Bill? Iowa GOP Proposal Would Ban All Abortions, Sentence Doctors To Life In Prison

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 yesterday morning that would completely outlaw all abortions.

Among other things, the bill make 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:



The bill makes “attempted feticide,” where the fetus does not die, a Class B felony, punishable by 25 years in prison. Iowans can even be punished for helping someone else perform an abortion, as, “joint criminal conduct shall apply to persons knowingly participating or concerned in the commission of feticide or attempted feticide under this section.”

Democrats complained the the bill — which would almost certainly violate Roe v. Wade — was a waste of time when there are pressing economic problems facing the state. “House Republicans and their colleagues in the Senate would rather put the lives of women in danger than have a real discussion about how we create jobs and move Iowa forward,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky said in a statement.

<---snip--->

Link: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/16/426548/iowa-abortion-ban/?mobile=nc

This has to be one of the most brutal and draconian anti-abortion measures I have seen yet. Courtesy of the Tea Party, naturally.

[saras]

1. I'm getting tired of doing this - the local representatives need to do it themselves

http://www.dareland.com/music/frozenembryos.mp3

[Old and In the Way]

2. Hopefully, people are waking up to the fact that it isn't an isolated individual

that's pushing this type of ridiculous legislation - it's an entire Party that wants to make a fertilized egg more important than the woman who is carrying it. Voting Republican is hazardous to your physical and fiscal heath.

[yardwork]

11. This is the truth.

[William769]

3. Thats really bad.

If it passes, I would think the Federal courts would step in.

[HockeyMom]

5. They want the Feds involved

so that Roe can be revisited and overturned. That is the plan.

[William769]

8. Well if thats the plan

I don't see how it will work in their favor. I think it would be a colossal fail (at least I hope I'm right on this).

[gkhouston]

4. Can we charge the GOP with attempted murder 2?

If this isn't "depraved indifference to human life", I don't know what is.

[HockeyMom]

6. Fertilized Egg Persons too?

How are they going to proved they "died"? Check tampons every month? Here we go again.

[kestrel91316]

7. Armies of panty inspectors will certainly solve the unemployment problem.........

[MineralMan]

9. Such a bill will not pass, and would not be constitutional if it did.

Many bill are introduced. Few are passed. It's a gesture of futility by that legislator.

[CoffeeCat]

10. I live in Iowa...

...and I will watch this story closely and enjoy seeing this radical tea-party nut job idiot have her arse
handed to her.

What an idiot.

We have a lot of enlightened, intelligent people in our state--we overwhelmingly voted for Obama in the Democratic
primary caucuses, gay marriage is legal. However, we do have our share of dips hits, and Rep. Kim Perason is
one of them.

I've never heard of her. I guess she's trying to make a name for herself, by acting like a complete asshat.

[Irishonly]

12. I am from Iowa

I do have to admit I have wondered what has happened. I know there has always been the religious right but when did they get so much power. I left in 1980 and maybe it's because I have always known liberals that I thought the state was more feminist friendly.

[CoffeeCat]

13. What has happened to Iowa...

...is pretty much what is happening at the national level.

The right wing is getting more and more rabid. They are more vocal, obnoxious and
more bold. And they are very, very politically active. This sorta puffs up their
presence and makes them appear to be a larger group. Really, they're not--they're just
very politically active. They're more likely to vote in primaries/caucuses, more likely
to volunteer for nut job politicians and more likely to call into radio programs.

These people are organized and they tend to be older. Progressives tend to be younger
and less organized--until we need to galvanize and undo their damage.

Iowa is still very progressive. There are many educated, kind and decent people here. I would
say that's the majority in the state. The problem is--the nut jobs are just louder and older.

[kdmorris]

14. "Where the death of the fetus results"...

So after 8 weeks of pregnancy?

Those people are too dumb to even realize that before 8 weeks, it's not a fetus. It's an embryo.

Other than that... life imprisonment? Holy shit...