(Des Moines, IA) Life Right Action and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) today praised Iowa’s passage of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Governor Terry Branstad signed the bill this morning, making Iowa the 20th state to end painful late-term abortions after 20 weeks or five months of pregnancy.
“After a years-long battle to gain a pro-life Senate, Iowa finally succeeded in passing life-saving legislation that bans painful late-term abortions,” said Jenifer Bowen, president of Life Right Action. “Our state was previously one of the most permissive on abortion, allowing abortion-on-demand well beyond five months, more than halfway through a pregnancy.”
“National Democratic leaders are beginning to turn away from their extreme pro-abortion platform. As they debate whether pro-lifers should be allowed into the party, pro-life Republicans are unified in their support for common sense pro-life measures. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is not only compassionate policy, it is smart politics,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Momentum is building to enact a national ban on late-term abortion. We are encouraged by Iowa’s bold move and look forward to the day when all unborn children are protected under the law.
“We congratulate and thank our pro-life allies in Iowa including the bill’s House sponsor Rep. Shannon Lundgren, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer, Rep. Dawn Pettengill, and Rep. Kristi Hagar for championing this compassionate legislation.”
Nineteen other states have passed similar laws protecting unborn children after five months, a point by which research shows unborn children feel pain.
The U.S. House has approved a federal version of this legislation twice, and it has received 54 votes in the U.S. Senate. Signing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act into law is one of four major pro-life commitments made by President Trump.
Jenifer Bowen is Founder and President of Life Right Action, a life-driven political advocacy group.
Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, knocking on more than 1.1 million doors in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. SBA List is a network of more than 465,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.