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Rep. Dean Fisher, R-Montour, is proposing a bill that would allow a privately-funded monument on Iowa State Capitol grounds in the memory of "abortion victims."
The bill comes amid a judge's decision Tuesday to strike down a state law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected.
Fisher was a supporter of that law and said he was disappointed with the judge's decision. The monument is something he said he's seen elsewhere.
"I imagine it as … a statue of some sort, an infant or something of that nature, but I think it's really up to an artist to propose," Fisher said.
He said there is not currently an effort that he knows of to have such a monument put at the State Capitol grounds, but said he hopes that getting his bill passed would be a catalyst for that effort. Fisher said the monument would not be paid for with tax dollars and would instead rely on private fundraising.
Similar legislation was passed in the Tennessee Legislature last year.
In order to become law, a bill in the Iowa Legislature has to go through several steps. It must make its way through the committee approval process before it can be debated or passed on a chamber floor.
If a bill is passed, the other chamber - in this case the state Senate - would then have to approve the same draft of the legislation in question. A bill then goes to the governor's desk for signing or a veto.
Fisher said Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert's decision to strike down the 2018 fetal heartbeat law was "wrong-headed" and said he hopes action will be taken this year on abortion.
"I think the judges have invented a right that is not in the constitution, so I'm hoping we can get something in the constitution that will correct the court," he said.
In Tuesday's ruling, Huppert said the law violated the state constitution's equal protection and due process clauses.
The law would have banned most abortions once a fetal heartbeat was detected, which occurs about six weeks into a pregnancy. Opponents of the bill point out that some women may not realize they are pregnant at that stage.
To follow legislation at the State Capitol, visit https://www.legis.iowa.gov/
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Contact Adam Sodders at (641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com