Legislators in Iowa are debating passing a bill mandating that teachers play videos of fetal development and ultrasounds to their pupils, along with animation or representation that depicts the process of fertilization and fetal development during pregnancy.
Bills pertaining to abortion are still being introduced, particularly in areas where the procedure is already prohibited, even though all but seven state legislatures are currently in session.
States Newsroom’s Reproductive Rights Today team will track specific legislation that potentially become laws in their respective states in a fortnightly legislative roundup because it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Certain measures have a better chance of passing and becoming law than others, depending on the party composition of the state legislature and other state government representatives.
Iowa
Following a court ruling that prevented a six-week abortion ban from taking effect in July 2023, abortion is now permitted in Iowa. Since late January, a law permitting the inclusion of content created by an anti-abortion organization in Iowa’s public school curriculum has not progressed; nonetheless, since then, further bills pertaining to abortion have surfaced.
House File 2575: According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, this bill would increase the seriousness of a pregnancy abortion without the pregnant person’s agreement if it was brought about by the commission of a “forcible felony,” such as murder, assault, or sexual abuse. Additionally, the statute’s language would be changed to state that the offense includes ending a human pregnancy up until the “death of an unborn person.” While some proponents of the bill claimed their testimony was unrelated to abortion, opponents of the bill pointed out that such a change could have unforeseen consequences, such as creating a pathway for additional legislative penalties or limiting access to contraception and other reproductive healthcare.
Status: Approved by the House Judiciary Committee; the entire House of Representatives may now examine it.
Sponsor: Subcommittee on House Judiciary
House File 2617: As previously reported by Iowa Capital Dispatch earlier this month, the bill would mandate the screening of a fetus development film in health classes in Iowa schools. Instructors would be required to play a film that shows a fetal development and ultrasound to their students; the “Meet Baby Olivia” video was specifically mentioned in the bill as an example. The anti-abortion group Live Action is the creator of that video.
Status: Approved by the Education Committee, pending full House approval
GOP Representative Luana Stoltenberg is the sponsor.
Kansas
Despite the fact that Kansas voters soundly rejected abortion prohibitions in a referendum held soon after the Dobbs ruling in 2022, Republican lawmakers in the state are still introducing proposals pertaining to abortion. Kansas allows abortions, and there are six facilities that offer in-clinic procedures. There have been no hearings on Senate Bill 354, which would have barred abortion facilities from the state’s health care stabilization fund, and House Bill 2515, which would have established a civil cause of action against abortion providers. However, other bills have been filed.
House Bill 2749: According to Kansas Reflector, this bill would force abortion providers to inquire about the reasons behind patients’ abortions, including a list of the “top reasons”—such as financial hardships, health issues resulting from the pregnancy, or the fact that the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest—as well as a number of demographic details. The major advocacy group for allowing abortion bans in 2022, Kansans for Life, filed the measure. Minors would likewise be covered by it.
Status: Approved by the Committee on Health and Human Services
Sponsor: Republican Representative Ron Bryce made this request on behalf of Kansans for Life.
Maine
In a committee earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers in Maine recommended a bill to codify abortion rights in the state constitution, outnumbering Republican lawmakers by a margin of one. According to Maine Morning Star, voters would have to decide whether to support Legislative Document 780 in the general election held in November after it was enacted by two-thirds of the legislature. The resolution will require Republican support in order to pass because the Senate is divided into 22 Democrats and 13 Republicans, while the House of Representatives is composed of 80 Democrats and 68 Republicans.
Status: Awaiting the entire House to cast a vote.
Sponsor: Nine Democrats and one Independent are in favor of the resolution.
