Iowa Governor Vetoes Fetal Homicide Bill

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D) last week vetoed a bill that would have defined a fetus as a person and made it a separate crime to kill a fetus at any stage of development. The Courier reports that Gov. Vilsack vetoed the bill because Iowa already has laws that address fetal death. Abortion rights groups praised Vilsack’s decision because such laws that define the fetus as a person lay the groundwork for challenges to Roe v. Wade, which explicitly states that a fetus is “not a person,” the Des Moines Register reports. Since becoming governor Vilsack has consistently vetoed anti-abortion bills, including bills that would have required doctors to provide information on alternatives to abortion and bills that would have instituted 24-hour waiting periods before undergoing abortions. As a state senator, Vilsack did vote for some restrictions on abortions. According to the Register, Vilsack is considered a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. DONATE to save Roe v. Wade


Des Moines Register 5/17/04; Courier 5/15/04
