“Pro-Life” “Fetal Pain” Bill is Worse Than Roe v. Wade?

State Representative Tom Shaw has issued the following statement:

The proper question is not “do they feel pain?” It is “are they a person?”

Having come under political fire for my firm opposition to House File 5, commonly known as the “fetal pain” bill, even from some in my own party, I feel the need to clearly explain to my constituents in District 8, and to my fellow Iowans, exactly why I have taken this stand.Thirty eight years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered the worst decision in American history, Roe v. Wade, leading to the destruction of upwards of fifty million innocent children in this country alone. On what basis was this horrific decision made? That the child in the womb is not a person. The court dehumanized an entire class of human beings based solely on their stage of development.

But even Justice Harry A. Blackmun, in the text of the court’s majority opinion, openly admitted that if the fetus is a person, “of course” they are protected by the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Here is what that Amendment, which is part of the Constitution we all swore to uphold and defend, says:

“No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The authors of HF 5, which is being brought before the Iowa House, admit in the language of the bill that the fetus, or child, is a person. They admit that life begins at conception. And yet they allow this person to be killed.

Asking whether or not the child can feel pain is not even the right question, any more than it would be if the subject of the legislation were a paraplegic, or a child or adult who is under sedation. The proper and only question is whether or not this is a person. If they are a person, as every bit of modern science clearly indicates them to be, they must be protected by those who are sworn to protect them.

Article I, Section 1, of the Iowa Constitution:

“All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights – among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.”

Article I, Section 2:

“Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people.…”

Article I, Section 6:

“All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens.”

Both the U.S. and Iowa constitutions imperatively demand the protection of the right to life of every innocent person, and require that every person enjoy the equal protection of the laws.  The law must be equally applied.  I swore an oath before God to do so, as I am required to do, as did all of my colleagues.

The language of House File 5 condemns itself. This is ill-conceived legislation that is both immoral and internally self-contradictory. It is clearly unconstitutional. However well-meaning, it can only lead to further destruction of thousands more innocent, currently defenseless, Iowa children and the further erosion of the sacred principles upon which we premise republican self-government and our claim to liberty in our state and in our country.

For the last 26 years the Republican Party’s national platform has recognized the personhood of all children in the womb, and their protection by the Fourteenth Amendment. I intend to continue to keep my pledge to those who elected me by doing everything I can to see that principled position implemented in the Iowa Legislature and in the laws of our great State.

Contact: Iowa State Representative Tom Shaw

tom.shaw@legis.state.ia.us