Iowa Senate subcommittee approves 20-week abortion ban

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy would be illegal in most cases under a bill that advanced Tuesday in the Iowa Legislature, a day after a GOP-led panel approved a separate measure to essentially outlaw abortion altogether.

Besides forbidding pregnancy after 20 weeks, the bill approved by the Senate human resources subcommittee would allow felony charges against doctors who perform abortions after that time.

Activists gathered Tuesday at the Capitol to urge support for the bills that would restrict abortion rights, focusing on separate legislation approved by a subcommittee Monday that would declare life at conception, effectively banning abortion.

"When you deal with bills that may have court challenges or Supreme Court challenges, passing multiple layers of a bill makes sense," he said.

[...] if one bill is struck down, there are other options.