Iowa state Rep. Luana Stoltenberg announced plans to introduce legislation to protect unborn babies from abortion starting at conception on Monday during the Prayer for Life rally at the Iowa State Capitol.
Sharing her personal testimony, the Davenport Republican said she aborted three unborn babies as a young woman before God changed her life, Sioux City Journal reports. As a result of the abortions, Stoltenberg said she was unable to have any more children.
Now a Christian, Stoltenberg said she wants to see Iowa become a state that protects all unborn babies’ lives.
“My prayer is that Iowa will pass a life at conception bill to protect their most vulnerable and defenseless citizens,” she told the pro-life crowd.
Right now, abortions are legal for any reason up to 20 weeks in Iowa. The state heartbeat law, which prohibits abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks, is blocked by a court order, but state Attorney General Brenna Bird is fighting to reinstate the law.
Click Like if you are pro-life to like the LifeNews Facebook page!
Bird, who spoke at the rally organized by Iowa Right to Life and others, said she is committed to “protecting the rights of all Iowans.”
“As your attorney general, my job is to uphold the law, and to protect the rights and freedoms of all Iowans, born and unborn,” she said.
Stoltenberg has not introduced her bill yet. She said she is waiting to hear how the Iowa Supreme Court rules on the heartbeat law, according to the report.
An abortion ban in Iowa would save thousands of unborn babies’ lives. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there were 3,566 abortions in 2019.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a pro-life Republican, also spoke at the pro-life rally Monday, celebrating the new hope for the future of unborn babies now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
“The end of Roe begins a completely new phase in the battle for life,” Reynolds said. “Across the country what matters now is the will of the people. Not government-appointed judges. … As we enter a post-Roe world, it’s up to us to show what it means to be a pro-life state.”
Here’s more from the report:
Reynolds highlighted her proposal to provide a boost to the More Options for Maternal Support program passed last year, including creating initiatives that reach out to at-risk fathers and potential fathers.
Sen. Kevin Alons, a Republican from Salix, echoed the comments made by Stoltenberg and said his hope is for state law to define life as beginning at conception.
Iowa is one of eight states that are fighting in court to enforce laws that protect unborn babies from abortions. Currently, 14 others are enforcing pro-life laws that prohibit or strictly limit the killing of unborn babies in abortions. SBA Pro-Life America estimates these state laws are saving more than 125,000 unborn babies’ lives.
For nearly 50 years under Roe, abortions destroyed more than 64 million unborn babies in abortions. Only now that Roe has been overturned may states again protect the right to life for all human beings, born and unborn.
Two new polls show growing public support for legal protections for unborn babies. A Marist College poll found 69 percent of Americans support limiting or banning abortions, up from 62 percent in June. Another new poll from UMass Amherst found a 5-percent drop in those who say Congress should pass a law to make abortions legal nation-wide and a 6-percent increase in support for a national abortion ban, WCVB News reports.
