A bill filed this week would put Iowa on the map as the first state to uphold equal protection of all life from conception. Representative Zach Dieken submitted HF2256, a bill that affords a baby who is one day from fertilization in the womb the same legal protection as a baby one day old outside the womb. This is a departure from the strategy of the Heartbeat Bill, a bill currently held up in court.
There is an intense debate. Representative Steven Holt (District 12, Denison and Ida Grove) plans to let the bill die. He writes, “The pro-life community is divided as to what we should do, but many believe as difficult as it is, that we should wait for this court decision before taking our next step in the fight for life.”
However, a growing number of pastors are calling for the abandonment of the Heartbeat Bill in favor of equal protection, and with no waiting on a court decision. Alex Kremer, who ministers at the Gospel Chapel in Atlantic, said, “Heartbeat bills, and bills like them, ensure that abortion in Iowa will remain ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ They all end with the conditions under which children can be legally murdered.”
Raymond Simmons, pastor of Ascension Reformed Church in Red Oak, said, “Representative Holt’s plan would authorize the killing of some of the unborn, which the Bible does not authorize. We are optimistic he will change his mind after considering the Biblical evidence and the growing conviction across Iowa that equal protection is required right now.”
The pastors are recommending prayer. They are asking Iowans to contact Representative Holt and respectfully call for him to move the bill forward.
