Patch Poll: Should Expectant Mothers Be Offered the Chance to Hear the Fetal Heartbeat Before an Abortion?
A bill that passed out of the Iowa House Human Resources Subcommittee would require a doctor of a pregnant woman seeking an abortion to give her an ultrasound and also offer the option for her to view an image of the fetus and hear its heartbeat.
A new abortion related bill passed out of the Human Resources Subcommittee in the Iowa House last week.
The bill, House File 2033, would require doctors treating a woman seeking an abortion an ultrasound scan of her unborn fetus. It would also require that doctor to offer those women the option to view an image of the fetus and also listen to its heartbeat.
A doctor who did not perform this sequence of demands under the new law could be fined up to $10,000.
In a Des Moines Register article on the bill, the only Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Beth Wessell-Kroeschell of Ames, was quoted as saying that doctors performing abortions usually take ultrasounds anyway, so this is really a bill designed to discourage abortions by forcing doctors to change their method of care.
“My concern here begins with the fact that we’re going down a slippery slope with beginning to tell doctors what’s necessary before a medical procedure,” she said.
Proponents for the bill disagreed, saying that this bill is a good balance between respecting the rights of the mother versus the rights of the unborn.
On cue, lobbyists both for and against abortion have taken a predictable stance for and against this bill. You can see what the lobbyist declaration here. The bill will now go for consideration by the Human Resources Committee.
Beth Dalbey
9:26 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
Government shouldn't dictate how doctors and their patients interact.
Linda
10:33 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Government is responsible for licensing doctors and there are laws for all kinds of medical situations. This is no different.
Jody Gifford
9:54 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
What's the point of this? Do they assume that when an expectant mother - who has already requested an abortion, mind you - sees that fetus on the ultrasound or hears its heartbeat, she's going to change her mind? And, if so, what happens then? Will the government pay for her prenatal and postnatal care in addition to supporting that child throughout its life? I doubt it. Stop wasting time and energy on insignificant issues like whether or not you should force a doctor to offer ultrasounds and worry about our tanking economy.
Beth Dalbey
10:29 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
Spot on, Jody.
Linda
10:34 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
So I take it you're only worried about the financial impact this would have on the taxpayers, not that a life would be taken or spared?
Jody Gifford
10:48 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Linda, that's not my worry to have. The fact is that if a woman decides to abort the life of her unborn child - which is HER right to do by law- then that is her decision. It's not my place to decide if what she is doing is right or moral. "Judge not, that you be not judged." Matthew 7:1.
Stephen Schmidt
10:02 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
There was also a more controversial bill introduced this week in that same subcommittee (HF2298) that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to life in prison. I chose to go with this bill for the question because that other bill is much less likely to receive serious consideration, and like the $10 minimum wage bill by Senate Democrats last week, it's more about making a point to their supporters of what they'd really like to do if they had their own way.
Saundra Ragona
11:02 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
Apparently this committee needs to be replaced.
Saundra Ragona
11:00 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
This is an absurd waste of valuable time. We don't pay our Congress to legislate morality. Requiring a busy Doctor for nonsense is too stupid to even think about. And who's going to pay for this? I thought we were trying to save money. Typical Iowa Congress nonsense, we are the funniest comic show in the Country!! The iowa State Legislature!! Leave these women alone!! They can consult their peers for advice, they don;t need the government telling them what to do!!!!
Ginny
11:05 am on Monday, February 20, 2012
Some women need to hear that heartbeat to realize that they are aborting a person and not a thing they can't yet feel or see.
Linda
10:38 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I agree with Ginny. The way it's handled now, impersonal wording is used (purposely) so the mother won't think of the "fetus" as a baby, but as a blob of tissue. It's a money-making procedure for Planned Parenthood and abortion doctors, alike.
CFBusinessOwner
6:26 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
Women need men (the gender of the majority of IA legislators) to understand that until THEY can become pregnant they need to step back and find ways to support funding for more access to sex education and affordable birth control. Birth control prevents unwanted abortions. We get it that you're against abortions. Most of us are. Quit the circus-like bills that stir up emotions and get down to the hard work of dealing with reality. If you're for ALL babies being born then support programs that help working families (preschool programs, daycare subsidies, nutrition programs,etc) and quit your grandstanding. Get to work!
Linda
10:46 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Do you really think men are incapable of discerning what murder is? They tend to see things as black & white, usually. I understand there are bad situations where a woman may be pregnant, but is the solution to kill the baby? What did the innocent baby do to warrant such an atrocity? We have adoptions in this country.....nobody is forced to keep a baby they don't want. Planned Parenthood's old saying, "Every child a wanted child" sounds good, but those same children who were NOT wanted by the birth mother would have been lovingly welcomed into an adoptive parent's arms. Instead, they don't really encourage this route, they encourage killing the baby, rather than putting it up for adoption. Some pregnant women have said, "oh, I could never put my baby up for adoption".......but instead they prefer to kill it???? It's crazy!
David Leonard
8:32 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
If it weren't for the abortion issue and gay rights issues, would there be a Republican party?
Lynn Burget Wood
3:35 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Its more complicated then not wanting the baby. Women get raped, women get health issues that can effect their life and the baby. Teenagers can be too young to deal with this. The quality of life the baby has through DNA testing can be a factor. That is why a believe is a mothers choice.
Jen
2:17 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012
So much concern for the unborn...that is until they are born. Then they are on their own. Right GOP?