Today 41 Republicans from the Iowa House and Senate delivered a letter to Attorney General Tom Miller, urging his office to investigate the practices of abortion providers in the state.
The investigation was prompted after videos surfaced showing employees from abortion providers discussing the harvesting and selling of aborted baby organs. Through an investigation, legislators are seeking whether any relevant laws were broken by abortion providers in the state.
The text of the letter reads:
Dear General Miller,
We, the undersigned legislators of the State of Iowa, were appalled by recent allegations that some abortion providers in the United States are:
- Contracting with companies to sell or transfer aborted human body parts and organs, and
- Actively deceiving their patients through federally mandated disclosure forms on what procedures are being used in order to more easily harvest aborted human body parts and organs.
- Intentionally neglecting to obtain consent from patients for tissue donation, thus harvesting fetal body parts and organs without the mothers’ knowledge and/or legal permission.
As it is the responsibility of the Department of Justice to ensure abortion providers in the State of Iowa are following applicable laws, we respectfully urge you to investigate current and planned abortion operations within Iowa to ensure compliance with the law.
Specifically, we request that your office obtain answers to the following questions:
1. How do Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) dispose of aborted baby remains? Please provide details of the disposal process.
2. Do Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) sell or donate any aborted baby organs or body parts?
3. Do any Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) contract with companies that assist with disposing, donating, or selling of aborted baby organs or body parts? If so, please describe exactly what these companies do with the aborted baby remains.
4. Please provide the names and addresses of any and all companies that Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) contract with for the disposal, donation, or sale of aborted baby organs or body parts.
5. How many Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) do business with StemExpress, or any other organizations that sell or donate the remains of aborted babies?
6. How many Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) offer pregnancy option information that directs patients to abortion clinics that do business with StemExpress, the company that boasts about “financial profits” that come from harvesting and distributing aborted baby body parts?
7. How are Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) reimbursed, paid, or in any way remunerated for participating in the donation of aborted baby organs or body parts? Please provide details and records of the exact amounts of reimbursements, payments, or remuneration received or that have been contracted to receive.
8. What information do Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) provide patients regarding the selling, donation, and/or disposal of their aborted baby’s organs and body parts? Do the providers offer a signed declaration to mothers donating their aborted baby’s organs and body parts that “no alteration of the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy was made solely for the purposes of obtaining the tissue,” in accordance with 42 U.S. Code § 289g–1?
9. Do Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) use the same “timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy” when obtaining donated tissue as when conducting an abortion procedure in which body parts and organs are not being sold or donated, or is the procedure altered?
10. Can Iowa abortion providers (or any affiliates, subsidiaries or associates thereof) provide documentation that patient consent was legally obtained in all cases where the remains of aborted babies were sold or donated?
We thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.
Signers of the letter include:
Rep. Clel Baudler Rep. Terry Baxter Rep. Brian Best
Iowa House District 20 Iowa House District 8 Iowa House District 12
Rep. Darrel Branhagen Rep. Dave Deyoe Rep. Cecil Dolecheck
Iowa House District 55 Iowa House District 49 Iowa House District 24
Rep. Dean Fisher Rep. Joel Fry Rep. Tedd Gassman
Iowa House District 72 Iowa House District 27 Iowa House District 7
Rep. Stan Gustafson Rep. Greg Heartsill Rep. Dave Heaton
Iowa House District 25 Iowa House District 28 Iowa House District 84
Rep. Steven Holt Rep. Dan Huseman Rep. Megan Jones
Iowa House District 18 Iowa House District 3 Iowa House District 2
Rep. Kevin Koester Rep. John Kooiker Rep. John Landon
Iowa House District 38 Iowa House District 4 Iowa House District 37
Rep. Zach Nunn Rep. Dawn Pettengill Rep. Ken Rizer
Iowa House District 30 Iowa House District 75 Iowa House District 68
Rep. Walt Rogers Rep. Sandy Salmon Rep. Larry Sheets
Iowa House District 60 Iowa House District 63 Iowa House District 80
Rep. Quentin Stanerson Rep. Ralph Watts Rep. Matt Windschitl
Iowa House District 95 Iowa House District 19 Iowa House District 17
Rep. Gary Worthan Senator Bill Anderson Senator Jerry Behn
Iowa House District 11 Iowa Senate District 3 Iowa Senate District 24
Senator Rick Bertrand Senator Jake Chapman Senator Mark Costello
Iowa Senate District 7 Iowa Senate District 10 Iowa Senate District 12
Senator Randy Feenstra Senator Dennis Guth Senator David Johnson
Iowa Senate District 2 Iowa Senate District 4 Iowa Senate District 1
Senator Ken Rozenboom Senator Jason Schultz Senator Mark Segebart
Iowa Senate District 40 Iowa Senate District 9 Iowa Senate District 6
Senator Amy Sinclair Senator Brad Zaun
Iowa Senate District 14 Iowa Senate District 20
The pdf of the letter can be found here.
