Maggie DeWitte, the executive director of Iowans For Life and the spokesperson for the pro-life coalition, testified in support of the proposed life amendment.
“I believe the people of Iowa and not unelected judges of the state Supreme Court should decide how Iowa regulates abortion,” she said. “These radical judges took that right away from all Iowans.”
The justices’ action takes away any hope for common-sense protections for women and children, she added. The ruling in the Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds case where former chief justice Mark Cady found a fundamental right to abortion in the Iowa Constitution, is worse than Roe v. Wade.
“Iowa isn’t alone in trying to pass a Constitutional amendment,” she said. “Four other states — Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, Rhode Island — have restored legislative authority. Iowa needs to follow the example of those states and put creating law back into your hands, our elected legislators.
“This amendment will simply restore our state Constitution back to what it was. It will not prohibit abortion, but rather allow our elected representatives and the People of Iowa to make decisions regarding the health, safety and well-being of its citizens.”
She also called for bipartisan support of the amendment.
“No legislator would be in favor of the judicial branch taking away what elected officials do,” she said. “We need to send a strong message to those unelected judges that they cannot legislate from the bench. It’s time to take back the rights of the legislature and the rights of we the People by passing this amendment.”
