House Journal: Page 1368: Monday, April 10, 2000
As a state senator, I felt that government had a proper, but limited, role to act in
certain areas affecting abortions. I supported parental notification as well as the ban
on late-term abortions. However, I view House File 2229 differently.
Iowa law currently requires a medical professional to obtain, from the patient, a
written consent to any medical or surgical procedure. (Iowa Code 147.137) This written
consent includes information on the risks associated with the procedure to be per-
formed. Therefore, women are already being provided information they need to make
an informed decision about the abortion procedure. This bill also assumes that women
do not invest enough time before the procedure weighing the emotional, medical, and
spiritual factors involved in making this extremely difficult decision. I do not believe
that assumption is true.
Current parental notification laws also provide an opportunity for every young
woman to have help and assistance in making this decision. Medical facilities providing
abortions and family planning services currently make available to a woman
contemplating an abortion a great deal of information. A number of other organiza-
tions, including many churches, make information on alternatives available. From this,
I conclude that any information a woman wants or needs is available to her.
Given the current laws in Iowa and the level of information currently available to
women, I must conclude that this bill is not about providing informed consent. Rather
it is about government prescribing what a woman should think about, when a woman
should think, and for how long a woman should think. This goes beyond the appro-
priate role of government in the context of this legal procedure.
The decision to have or not have an abortion is and should be the patient's decision.
It should be made pursuant to her own values, in consultation with her physician and
her God. Government's role is and should be limited.
For the above reasons, I hereby respectfully disapprove House File 2229.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Vilsack
Governor
PRESENTATION OF VISITORS
The Speaker announced that the following visitors were present in
the House chamber:
Thirteen government students from Lamoni High School, Lamoni,
accompanied by Jack Vanderflught. By Dolecheck of Ringgold.
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
MR. SPEAKER: The Chief Clerk of the House respectfully reports
that certificates of recognition have been issued as follows.
© 2000 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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