DES MOINES, Iowa – On Wednesday morning, Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman, R-Adel, submitted SJR 2, a constitutional amendment designed as a response to a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision regarding the life of the unborn.
Defending the life of the unborn been an area of focus for Chapman. In his opening remarks of this session, President Chapman stated the following, “The assault on the defenseless has silenced over 60 million Americans since 1973 and that number mounts every day. This legislative body has stood courageously for the life of the unborn. Regrettably, five unelected judges, with the stroke of a pen fabricated a constitutional right to an abortion under Iowa’s constitution. This egregious usurpation of power will not be left unchecked. It is our responsibility, it is our oath-bound duty, to rightfully propose to the people of Iowa a constitutional amendment to correct this judicial over-reach.”
“I commend the House of Representatives for taking action yesterday in passing out of subcommittee this constitutional amendment. Today, I am pleased to announce that I have introduced similar legislation in the Senate and I am honored to have 28 of my colleagues sign on as co-sponsors. As promised, we will not allow unelected judges to re-write our constitution. This is a power rightfully reserved for the voters of Iowa,” Chapman said in a released statement.
The proposed constitutional amendment language reads, “To defend the dignity of all human life, and to protect mothers and unborn children from efforts to expand abortion even to the day of birth, we the people of the State of Iowa declare that this Constitution shall not be construed to recognize, grant, or secure a right to abortion or to require the public funding of abortion.”
The proposed amendment would need to pass during the 89th General Assembly and 90th General Assembly before Iowans could vote on whether to ratify it or not.
See the bill and the list of State Senators co-sponsoring it below:
SJR2
