Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds promised Monday to keep working until society recognizes that every person, “no matter how small,” deserves a right to life.
Speaking at the Prayer for Life rally in the state Capitol, the governor expressed strong hopes that unborn babies’ right to life will be restored once again in America, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.
Reynolds said the country is “on the brink of a historic breakthrough for the right to life,” referring to a major abortion case that the U.S. Supreme Court likely will rule on this summer. Many believe the high court may overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade through the Mississippi case and allow states to protect unborn babies from abortion again.
“As a movement we’re closer than ever to one of our foremost goals,” Reynolds said, according to Radio Iowa. “…I won’t rest until our laws and our society recognize that all people, no matter how small, are entitled to the right to life.”
Reynolds also is challenging a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that found a “right” to abortion in the Iowa Constitution. The ruling struck down a law that created a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion.
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“In Iowa, innocent life should be protected, not discarded,” she said. “Yet with one ruling, Iowa’s laws went from one of the most pro-life in the country to one of the least.”
Here’s more from the Capital Dispatch:
The Iowa Supreme Court is currently considering an appeal of a similar law requiring a 24-hour waiting period. That decision could overturn the 2018 finding, paving the way for Iowa to pass more restrictive laws on abortion.
“It’s a common-sense measure that deserves to be upheld,” Reynolds said of the 24-hour law. “But it’s also a chance for the state’s Supreme Court to reaffirm what the framers of Iowa’s constitution expressed so eloquently: that every human life is precious.”
Meanwhile, pro-lifers in Iowa are working to pass a state constitutional amendment to reverse the pro-abortion ruling and declare that there is no right to abortion or a taxpayer-funded abortion in Iowa. The amendment potentially could be on the ballot for voters’ approval in 2024.
Reynolds encouraged pro-life Iowans to keep persevering because their work for unborn babies is making a difference.
“There’s never been a more important moment in the history of the pro-life movement,” she said. “Decades of organizing, voting and, above all, praying are paying off.”
The Republican governor has a strong pro-life record, having signed several pro-life bills into law. Last year, she joined a dozen pro-life governors in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to give “this issue back to the people” and allow states to protect unborn babies from abortions again.
