Iowa joins the 19th century

Couldn’t call this unexpected, but depressing nonetheless:

A moment we knew was coming, but is still heartbreaking nonetheless: late last night the GOP-controlled Iowa state legislature passed an abortion ban that restricts abortion around 6 weeks when ‘cardiac activity’ is detected, and before many even know they are pregnant. This comes after a rare 14-hour special legislative session, despite public outcry and testimony. If you have a moment, please listen to testimonials from the hearing. The anger from Iowans is palpable:

The bill includes a few ‘exceptions’—which we know are unusable and act only as PR for Republican legislators (Abortion, Every Day has an explainer on this strategy here). In one of the many moments of cruelty during the hearing, anti-abortion Republicans voted down an exception for children 12 and under.

Abortion advocates worry that the law’s vagueness over how the bill should be enforced will contribute to the post-Roe landscape where doctors are confused and afraid of the type of care they are legally able to provide, which in many cases leads to no care being provided at all. 

And let me say once again, fuck every Savvy journalist who was proudly complacent about what would happen if Roe was overruled:

In 2020, when I worked at the local newspaper, I told a colleague — a senior political reporter — that Iowa would ban abortions as soon as it could. “Aren’t you overreacting?,” he replied.