Life-at-Conception legislation would end abortion here in Iowa by declaring that unborn life begins at the moment of conception, providing the same legal protections to that baby that you and I enjoy! This is the only way to actually deal with the abortion issue in Iowa, as all of the half-measures that have been tried in the past have failed. Iowans didn’t elect a pro-life majority, only to see the most effective pro-life bill of all be canned by legislative leaders in the House and Senate! As a pro-life voter, I demand that you pass Life-at-Conception legislation during the 2020 session. I’m tired of the delay, tired of the compromise, and tired of being lied to at election time by lawmakers who use this issue as election fodder. Pass this bill! Iowa Pro-Life Action will keep me apprised of your actions on this bill, or similar legislation.

Planned Parenthood is going ‘all-in’ in the 2020 elections, as they have lost over $500,000,000 in Title X funding since Donald Trump took the White House in 2016. And their fight for the White House starts right here in Iowa, where Planned Parenthood will likely be spending tens of millions, trying to prove to the world that we are a pro-abortion state. That’s why it’s your job to send a message to Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion media in 2020, by passing S.F. 259 or similar legislation. This Life-at-Conception legislation would end abortion in Iowa and will tell the world that Iowa is a pro-life state. But this won’t happen if legislative leaders continue to block this legislation to placate the liberal media and pro-abortion lawmakers in both caucuses. As your constituent, I am writing to insist that you fight for the unborn by passing Life-at-Conception legislation during the 2020 session. Nothing else will suffice. Iowa Pro-Life Action will tell me how you vote or speak about this bill.

Iowans have been waiting for a decade for passage of Life-at-Conception legislation, which would end abortion in Iowa once and for all! From 2011-2016, House leaders killed the bill and blamed Senate Democrats who controlled that chamber. But both House and Senate leaders killed the bill in 2017, 2018, and 2019 when Republicans had complete control of the legislature and the Governor’s mansion. It is becoming obvious to pro-lifers like me that saving the unborn is more of a campaign talking point than a real legislative goal. And I’m sick of it. Please don’t tell me about the compromised measures that have been passed over the last few years, as we all know that those bills failed to save a single unborn baby. If you want my support at election, then you had better earn it by passing S.F. 259 or similar legislation in 2020. Iowa Pro-Life Action will keep me informed of your votes on this or any similar legislation.

As a lawmaker, saving innocent life is the most important job that you hold. And unborn babies are the most helpless Iowans there are -- and they deserve your full attention. Passing Life-at-Conception legislation (S.F. 259) would save those lives by ending abortion in Iowa, as the legislation would specify that human life in Iowa begins at the moment of conception! Despite that, the legislature has blocked this legislation in sub-committee in 2017 and 2019, while not taking it up at all in 2018. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of the games that the legislature is playing with the unborn. Your 20-week abortion ban in 2017 didn’t save a single life. Your 72-hr waiting bill in 2018 didn’t save a single life. Your heartbeat bill in 2018 didn’t save a single life. But you knew that before you passed them, and that’s why I’m extremely frustrated that you have refused to advance Life-at-Conception legislation! Please stop playing games with unborn life, and pass the Life-at-Conception bill during the 2020 legislative session, or find another job! You don’t have to reply to this, Iowa Pro-Life Action will let me know what you do with this issue.

When we elected a pro-life majority in 2016 after flipping the Iowa Senate, pro-lifers were promised that the legislature would save unborn life. But that hasn’t happened. None of the compromised, watered down bills that the legislature has passed since 2017 have saved a single unborn life after they were blocked by the courts. But I know that the legislature knew that in advance, and that these compromised bills were passed only to provide political cover for the re-election efforts of lawmakers! In fact, at the end of the day, it seems like the only thing being protected by lawmakers since we elected a ‘pro-life majority’ in 2016 are legislative careers! As a pro-life voter, I’m sick of this. I want action of Life-at-Conception legislation in 2020. Whether that’s S.F. 259 or another identical bill, please fight for the unborn and pass this legislation in 2020 -- or it will be clear to me that you only care about the unborn at election time. Iowa Pro-Life Action has promised to let me know what you do with this legislation.

Life-at-Conception legislation has been blocked by legislative leaders for years, even after the GOP took over the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2016. Instead, the legislature passed a watered down 20-week fetal pain bill, which didn’t save a single unborn life. Next you passed a 72-hr waiting period bill, which never took effect and didn’t save a single unborn life. And the heartbeat bill also failed to save a single baby. Even worse, while Governor Reynolds campaigned on sending the heartbeat bill to the US Supreme Court if she got reelected last year, she didn’t even appeal it to the State Supreme Court! It seems very clear that these other bills were designed to fail, and that they were supported only to give lawmakers political cover at election time. Please don’t try to convince me that I’m wrong with meaningless words; prove me wrong by passing S.F. 259 (the Life-at-Conception Act) or similar legislation during the 2020 session. If you want my support in 2020, this is the least you can do. Iowa Pro-Life Action will let me know what happens to this bill, and how you vote on it.

Here in Iowa, virtually every political candidate tells me that they are pro-life at election time, when you want my vote, donations, and volunteer time. Pro-life voters like me have elected a self-professed ‘pro-life majority’ during the last two election cycles...only to see Life-at-Conception legislation blocked just like it was blocked when Democrats controlled the legislature! This is outrageous! We gave you a majority, but you are refusing to use it, electing to advance feel good legislation that hasn’t saved a single baby here in Iowa. Do your job, pass Life-at-Conception, and end abortion here in Iowa, or pro-lifers will find legislators who will!

As a pro-life voter in Iowa, I’m sick of seeing lawmakers on the news and at legislative coffees on the weekends wearing unborn baby feet on their lapels, only to hide behind caucus leaders who block Life-at-Conception legislation year after year. I’m tired of seeing our ‘pro-life majorities’ in Des Moines refuse to advance this life saving legislation. This is simple: cosponsor, vote for, and support Life-at-Conception legislation (S.F. 259 for example,) or don’t bother trying to convince me that you’re pro-life when you ask for my support during the 2020 election cycle. Unborn babies are more than just campaign fodder, they are human beings. Act like it.

As a pro-life voter here in Iowa, I’m disgusted that our so-called pro-life majorities have blocked Life-at-Conception legislation (like S.F. 259) again and again in Des Moines. Most of the time, legislators tell me that ‘I’ll vote for this, but it depends on caucus leaders who need to schedule it for a vote.’ But that’s just not going to work anymore. As my lawmaker, you can force a vote on any legislation you want using legislative rules like House Rule 60 in the House or a discharge petition in the Senate. You can also use your position to take this issue to the media, calling on caucus leaders to do their job and schedule a vote on Life-at-Conception legislation. Sitting back and waiting while blaming caucus leaders -- while unborn babies are murdered for the crime of being inconvenient –- isn’t going to cut it any longer. Do the job that I elected you to do: fight for the unborn by getting a vote on S.F. 259 or similar legislation, or I’ll have to find someone who will.