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Abortion-Access Advocacy Organization Urges Branstad To Veto Legislation

The abortion-access advocacy organization NARAL Pro-Choice America is urging Gov. Terry Branstad to veto legislation it says threatens women's health and plays politics with women's lives.

Senate File 471 requires women to wait three days before receiving an abortion and have an ultrasound before the procedure. It also bans abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. 

"There is still time for the governor to do the right thing," says NARAL's James Owens. "This bill introduced ideology into the doctor’s room and tries to shame women away from accessing basic healthcare." 

Spokesman Ben Hammes says Branstad has yet to review the legislation.  

"However, I can say that Gov. Branstad is very proud of his pro-life record and has been strongly pro-life since he came to the Legislature in 1972," writes Hammes in an email. 

If the governor signs the legislation, the abortion-access advocacy research organization Guttmacher Institute saysIowa would become the sixth state to mandate a three-day waiting period for abortion.

Iowa would also become the 19th state to ban the procedure after week 20. Six states prohibit abortion at 24 weeks.