by Amna El Tawil
Republican congressmen seek support for the federal heartbeat bill arguing that it would eliminate abortion in the United States. Despite the fact that it is highly unlikely the bill will pass Congress it is a clear indicator how a party, who’s in majority, feels about abortion.
Steve King, a congressman from Iowa, said: “We think this bill properly applied does eliminate a large, large share of abortions – 90% or better – of the abortions in America.”
King was the one who introduced the bill earlier this month but held his press conference yesterday, only a few days after millions of women marched to oppose abortion laws. The press conference also has a symbolic meaning as it occurred in the week that marks the 44th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 supreme court decision to legalize abortion nationwide.
Congressman from Iowa said he hopes the bill will get to the supreme court and overturn Roe vs. Wade which he calls unconstitutional. As you already know, Donald Trump made it perfectly clear he will appoint pro-life justice during his presidency.
King also said that: “It is a profound religious and moral understanding that every human person has the right to life. The question that has hung before the courts, since 1973 is: ‘When does life begin?’–we all know when that is. We stand here and assert that it has to be a distinctive moment. You can’t guess a thing called viability. You can’t say 22 weeks versus 20 weeks. You have to say it is at a specific instant. The most precise instant that we can describe and that we can identify by science is the moment that that heartbeat begins.”
He also added that those who break the law could spend five years in prison.
Republicans push federal ‘heartbeat’ bill in longshot bid to overturn Roe v Wade https://t.co/HP0kmUa0lx
— The Guardian (@guardian) January 24, 2017