The impact of abortion on Iowa

By State Senator, Sandy Salmon

Thank you all for coming out and showing your support for life. 

I was a senior in high school when Roe vs. Wade was decided. I have watched the pro-life movement for 50 years! I never thought I would see the day when Roe would be overturned!

But here we are! We are actually living in a post-Roe world!

When I came into office in 2012, Iowa law allowed abortion up to the moment of birth and Iowa taxpayers were subsidizing the abortion industry! This had been the case since the 70’s! Totally unacceptable!

Over the past 11 years we have made remarkable strides forward in the fight to protect life. There were a few setbacks but the net result has been moving forward.

• 2014 – Ban on webcam abortion (struck down by court)
• 2015 – Ultrasound requirement for abortion
• 2017 – Ban on abortion at 20 weeks
• 2017 – 72-hour waiting period requirement – (struck down by court)
• 2017 – strengthened the ultrasound requirement and required full informed consent for abortion
• 2017 – defunded abortionists in state Medicaid money
• 2018 – “Heartbeat” law – (struck down by court)
• 2018 – Ban on the sale of aborted baby body parts
• 2018 – Prohibition on wrongful birth/life lawsuits
• 2019 – defunded abortionists in federal grant money for sex education in schools
• 2020 – Established a 24-hour waiting period requirement
• 2020 – Alfie’s Law – courts cannot refuse life-sustaining treatments to a child over the parents’ objections
• 2021 – Protect Life Constitutional Amendment passed the legislature – The Iowa Constitution establishes no right to an abortion nor any right to the funding of it
• 2022 & 2023 – MOMS Bill – More Options for Maternal Support – state support for pregnancy resource centers that support healthy pregnancies, childbirth, and parenting instead of abortion
• 2023 – Re-passed the Heartbeat Law – by even stronger majorities than the first time! – now awaiting Iowa Supreme Court decision

We have come a long way! But we still have a ways to go before unborn babies are fully protected! But we are definitely on our way and in the middle of the fight! We won’t stop until unborn children enjoy the protection of their constitutional right to life! Since Dobbs, a new chapter in the fight for life has begun! And we have just begun to fight!

There are so many times here at the Capitol as I hear so many lamenting and bemoaning the workforce shortages in numerous areas – manufacturing, health care, education, law enforcement – all tell us they need more people.  I often think that this problem goes back to simple demographics. We have allowed in the state of Iowa the slaughter of about 200,000 human beings through abortion that would now be of age to be in our workforce. If only half of them stayed in Iowa, we would have 100,000 more people today in our workforce. That would totally solve our problem of 80,000 jobs today looking for people. But they are not here – and it’s because we have allowed abortion.

As a state it is a foolish and misguided, as well as a wicked, policy to allow your citizens to lose their lives before they even see the light of day. Not only do we violate spiritual and moral law, we also violate economic law. An increase in prosperity needs an increase in population or we struggle. It’s as simple as that! Those telling us how badly they need more people ought to be the strongest supporters of the pro-life cause!

Justice never sleeps! It has a way of continuing to grind forward until it prevails. And justice will prevail! We will not give up! Unborn children will get the God-given protection for life because that is their right!

Thank you!

[State Senator Sandy Salmon gave this address at yesterday’s Prayer Rally at the Capital. Thanks to the Senator for permission to publish her remarks on Pulse’s blog. Be sure to subscribe today.]