A bill was recently passed out of the Iowa Senate that would increase penalties for those found guilty of non-consensual termination of pregnancies. However, what started as a bill with mostly bipartisan support has now been met with opposition due to changes in the language.

Senate File 523 is headed to the Iowa House of Representatives for consideration. Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, says similar laws currently exist in 38 other states, and he emphasizes that it has nothing to do with potential abortion restrictions. “This is existing law that we have right now, we just want to enhance the penalty so it mirrors what the penalty would look like if it was the mother who was killed. The opponents to this bill want to talk about abortion. I’m a pro-life advocate, but this bill does not address the issue of abortion. This is for non-consensual murder of that child.”

Chapman admits that much of the dissent surrounding the bill has to the with language in it that refers to the unborn fetus as a “person.” He has long been a proponent for “personhood” bills, which would outlaw abortions of any kind, though he says the language used in the fetal homicide bill is more about the dignity of the life lost, rather than an attempt to place personhood language into the code. Opponents have promised to fight the language used in order to prevent it from setting a precedent, as most support the concept of the bill.

To learn more about the current legislative session, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.