This week at the capitol, most of the fuss came from a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. This bill was in the House Human Resource committee which passed with an 11-8 vote, with one Republican voting against it, to come to the House floor for debate. Before this vote took place in the committee, Republicans pulled an amendment that would have banned any abortions after finding a heartbeat, which could have banned abortions as early as six weeks.  As Republicans say this bill is protecting the unborn, Democrats say it is a direct attack on women’s health.

A pro-life rally was held in the capitol with speakers including Senators, Representatives, Speaker of the House Upmeyer, Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds talking about the importance of protecting the unborn. Speaker Linda Upmeyer told the large audience, “How can you be a woman and not support life?”

This bill is expected to come to the House floor the same week the controversial Des Moines Water Works bill could make its appearance. Both of these bills will take up the majority of the House’s next week or so if debated. House officials are expecting large crowds for both bills from each side of the political spectrum.