Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — The 32 Republicans in the Iowa Senate have endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that says the state’s founding document does not protect abortion rights.
Senator Zach Whiting is a Republican from Spirit Lake.
All 18 Democrats in the Senate, including Senator Eric Giddens of Cedar Falls, voted against the proposal.
Republican Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull, who is running for Congress, says the proposal leaves it up to voters to decide if women should have a right to an abortion.
Senator Jackie Smith, a Democrat from Sioux City, says the proposed amendment is an extreme attack on women and their health care.
A similar proposal did not come up for a vote in the Republican-led Senate last year — and Thursday night, Governor Kim Reynolds tweeted her thanks for this year’s Senate action. If the House passes the proposed amendment this session, it’ll have to be passed again in 2021 or 2022 before it could be submitted to a vote of the people.
