Republicans in the Iowa Senate voted to significantly increase the penalty for anyone convicted of intentionally or accidentally causing the termination of a pregnancy against the mother’s wishes. Senator Jake Chapman, a Republican from Adel, says a life prison sentence is “proper punishment” for such a crime.
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Chapman says the proposal would not apply to abortion, since the crime of pregnancy termination would have to be committed against a woman’s wishes. Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines and the other Democrats in the Senate voted “no” on the bill.
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The bill now goes to the Republican-led House.