Des Moines, May 4 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Iowa, the Republican-led legislature has voted to approve the nation’s most restrictive ban on abortions.  Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has promised to sign the bill, which outlaws abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens just six weeks into a pregnancy, and before many women even realize they’re pregnant. 

Opponents call the bill unconstitutional and warn it opens the door for doctors who perform abortions to be criminally prosecuted.  Right before the vote, Iowa state representative, Democrat Brian Meyer, told his fellow lawmakers: “I know what the law is, because I do it everyday.  I’m asking you if you understand the bill that you’re passing today creates, essentially, a murder charge for a doctor.” 

Iowa’s anti-choice bill came as Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups filed suit against the Donald Trump administration, challenging its recent rollback of a federal program that provides birth control and other reproductive health care services to millions of low-income people.