Members of the Iowa House and Senate are back at the state Capitol, as Republican lawmakers plan to pass a six-week abortion ban today.
House Speaker Pat Grassley convened the House shortly after 8:30. Democrats object to today’s rules. Republicans have set time limits on a public hearing as well as debate among lawmakers, to ensure a vote on the bill will occur before midnight. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the voices of Iowans who oppose the bill are being muzzled.
“Every time you scream ‘Freedom!’ from your side of this chamber, your noses grow a little longer,” Petersen said. “…You’re showing what Iowa looks like as a dictatorship.”
Beyond lawmakers, hundreds of people are in the statehouse this morning to speak at public hearings and for a midday rally against the bill.
The crowd in the Capitol Rotunda for the Legislature’s special session. (RI photo)