Patch Poll: Should Expectant Mothers Be Offered the Chance to Hear the Fetal Heartbeat Before an Abortion?

A new abortion related bill passed out of the Human Resources Subcommittee in the Iowa House last week.

The bill, House File 2033, would require doctors treating a woman seeking an abortion an ultrasound scan of her unborn fetus. It would also require that doctor to offer those women the option to view an image of the fetus and also listen to its heartbeat.

A doctor who did not perform this sequence of demands under the new law could be fined up to $10,000.

In a Des Moines Register article on the bill, the only Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Beth Wessell-Kroeschell of Ames, was quoted as saying that doctors performing abortions usually take ultrasounds anyway, so this is really a bill designed to discourage abortions by forcing doctors to change their method of care.

“My concern here begins with the fact that we’re going down a slippery slope with beginning to tell doctors what’s necessary before a medical procedure,” she said.

Proponents for the bill disagreed, saying that this bill is a good balance between respecting the rights of the mother versus the rights of the unborn.

On cue, lobbyists both for and against abortion have taken a predictable stance for and against this bill. You can see what the lobbyist declaration here. The bill will now go for consideration by the Human Resources Committee.