A hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Iowa Capitol on a bill that would have banned abortions in Iowa has been canceled.
The bill, which would have made it a crime for Iowa doctors to perform abortions, was co-sponsored by 24 Republicans in the Iowa House. Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, was the lead sponsor.
“It was not the right time to take this on,” Dunwell said. “There are a couple of things that have to be worked through, and so rather than going through this whole process, knowing we were going to hit some roadblocks, I’d rather focus on some other life initiatives this year.”
Dunwell, who is not seeking reelection, said he is disappointed, but recognized that there were not 51 “yes” votes from Republicans to pass the bill in the House.
“You’re always trying to figure out where you’re going to allocate your resources where you can actually get something done,” Dunwell said. “Looking at everything that’s going on, [we] kind of figured ‘OK, let’s put all of our eggs in one basket, with the black-market abortion pill.”
The bill Dunwell said Republicans are pursing instead would make it illegal for out-of-state doctors to send abortion medication to Iowa women through the mail. If that bill becomes law, people seeking medication-induced abortions would have to have an in-person visit with a doctor. Doctors who dispense abortion pills outside of a health care setting could be sued.
The deadline for policy bills to clear a committee in the House or Senate is Friday. Dunwell said he’s sure Republicans can “get that across the line.”