Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds signed the heartbeat bill. This law protects unborn sons and daughters in the Hawkeye State. Both houses of the Iowa legislature passed the bill with significant majorities. Prof. William Wagner publicly called on the Governor to sign the bill into law. Wagner is a former Federal Judge and Distinguished Professor Emeritus (Constitutional Law).
The Heartbeat Bill will Survive Supreme Court Scrutiny
According to Wagner, the heart beat bill will survive constitutional scrutiny if reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Wagner stated, “The Court’s cases always balance the government’s ‘profound’ interest in protecting life with the judicially-created ‘right’ of personal autonomy.” (Personal autonomy is a judge made “right” that authorizes a doctor to kill the child without legal consequences.)
Science now literally shows us the heart beating. This heart pumps blood through the child’s body at a very early age. The active “liberty” justices must, therefore, consider these advances in science. Thus, for these justices, reasons exist for them to evolve their legal position.
Meanwhile, the Rule of Law justices on the court will continue to recognize the jurisprudential illegitimacy of the process the Court used to create the “right” in the first place.
A majority on the court likely exists, therefore, to conclude that an unborn child with a beating heart is worthy of government protection. The Governor was right to sign the heartbeat bill into law.
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