For decades Christians in America have brought the issue of abortion – the issue of the bloodshed of unborn babies – to the throne room of God and have sought from Him the opportunity to outlaw abortion from America. We have marched for decades. We have called, emailed, and spoken to our representatives over and over as we lifted our prayers to God that He might turn the tide and put before us the opportunity to end abortion in our states and in our nation. Let us give thanks to God for the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v Wade. Let us give thanks for a governor and legislature that has kept fighting for the unborn. Let us give thanks to God that the opportunity to end abortion has been presented in our state legislature and will again be presented in our legislature. We have been fighting against abortion for a long time, and we have much to be grateful for.
Let us give thanks to God for the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v Wade. God in His providence orchestrated that decision. Mitch McConnell, a RINO if there ever was one, saw the political opportunity to deny any new federal court appointments for judges, and as the 2016 election was in full swing McConnell held off the Democrats from being able to push through the individual they wanted on the Supreme Court. If God can work through Mitch McConnell, He can use anyone. But then God also permitted Donald Trump to win the 2016 election. Trump knew that he would need to appoint one Supreme Court justice to replace Scalia. But no one realized that Trump would appoint three judges to the Supreme Court. Trump promised good judges that upheld the Constitution, and he knew it would be a battle to get them on the court. As the media attacked each of these appointees, Trump did not back down. He stood his ground and stood next to his appointees all the way through the gruesome process. Because God gave us a shrewd politician like Mitch McConnell and because God gave us a president who would not cave to the media’s screeching, God provided America the court that would overturn Roe v Wade. We should thank the Lord for His mercy towards us in removing the scourge of Roe v Wade from our court system.
Let us give thanks to God for a governor and legislature that has fought for the unborn. Governor Kim Reynolds called a special session on July 11th of last year to end abortion at a heartbeat. Governor Reynolds in her press release and our other elected representatives declared all with one voice: “Justice for the unborn should not be delayed.” They were determined that the courts would not obstruct the justice due to these unborn children. God has provided us with representatives who are eager to stop the injustice that is abortion.
There are legitimate problems with the heartbeat bill. First, the exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother are loopholes that need to be eradicated. If abortion is murder (and it is), if the unborn person is made in the image of God (and he or she is), then these exceptions are an inconsistency. If it is life (and it is), it must be protected. Second, clinics like Planned Parenthood have no qualms with performing abortions; they have no qualms shedding the blood of unborn children. Are we really so naive to think that they will make the effort to find the heartbeat of a baby who is in the first trimester? I am happy to be wrong here. Perhaps the heartbeat bill will limit the number of abortions performed at clinics. But I have my doubts that the industry which profits off the death of the unborn will become virtuous and do their due diligence to find the heartbeat on our littlest Iowan neighbors. Finally, the heartbeat bill only addresses what happens within clinics in our state. It does not address the abortion pill which is easily accessed, nor does it address if a woman travels out of state to get an abortion. There are currently abortion clinics being built in Illinois in the hopes that Iowan residents will drive over to them to kill their unborn. The problems with the heartbeat bill show that we need more bills if we are to provide justice for the unborn.
Let us give thanks that a bill to end abortion in Iowa was presented in this past legislative session and that it will be presented again in this upcoming legislative session. Representative Zach Dieken put forth HF 2256 in the past legislative session. Representative Steven Holt, the Chair of Judiciary, refused to send it to a subcommittee, killing the bill and preventing any discussion on it. But we should be thankful to God for this bill that Zach Dieken will again put forth in this upcoming legislative session. HF2256 declares that “innocent human life, created in the image of God, should be equally protected under the law from fertilization to natural death.” It also seeks to fix the problem where some women who get abortions are coerced into getting them. It seeks “to ensure that pregnant women are protected under the law from being pressured to abort a child” and “to remove provisions that may allow a person to solicit, command, aid, or counsel a pregnant woman to abort a child.” The bill amends sections of our law which protect wrongful death, forbid compulsion, and describe homicide so that these sections would now apply to all babies up until fertilization. God has provided us in Iowa with a state representative in Representative Zach Dieken who is determined to work unrelentingly to end the injustice that is abortion in the state of Iowa.
The opportunity to end abortion in Iowa has been handed to us. The opportunity to end abortion in Iowa will be handed to our elected representatives in their next legislative session. We Christians have prayed for this opportunity for decades, and it is hard to believe that we could be the generation that finally seizes this opportunity to end abortion once and for all in our state of Iowa. Every clinic would have to close their doors to abortions. No woman would be able to seek out abortion pills to use. No one would be able to coerce or compel a woman to get an abortion. Abortion would be outlawed and treated as homicide with penalties for wrongful death.
Should we take this opportunity? Some may argue that slow and steady wins the race. But now in God’s providence we have reached the finish line. For the past 50 years, we have marched, we have protested, and we have prayed for this moment. We have been patient, and we have been persistent. God has heard our prayers and now hands us the opportunity to outlaw abortion in Iowa. It would be wrong for us not to take this opportunity and pass this bill. What can you do to help? Contact Representative Zach Dieken at [email protected] and ask him what you can do to help him get his bill passed during this upcoming legislative session. Then tell your representative about this bill and get them to support it. Then pray to God, making an appeal to heaven that, just as God has overturned Roe v Wade, He might also change the hearts and minds of every individual involved and permit us to enact this bill so that abortion will end in Iowa. May the Lord be willing.
