Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
An Iowa City Democrat will introduce a new abortion bill tomorrow in the Senate Ways and Means Committee that “is consistent with Iowans’ values, does not endanger a woman’s health or safety, and takes measures to ensure we provide the appropriate standard of care necessary to save lives.”
Sen. Joe Bolkcom stated his intentions in a release Wednesday afternoon.
Senate Study Bill 1212 would use the Certificate of Need process to require that “a new abortion facility which performs abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization is in close proximity to an Iowa hospital, with the appropriate level of perinatal care to protect the life or health of the woman and the fetus,” Bolkcom said.
This bill was drafted in response to a House Republican bill, House File 657, which sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks.
“As we engage in this debate, we need to be honest about the circumstances under which a woman pursues these procedures,” Bolkcom continued. “In 2009, there were only six abortions in Iowa that occurred after 20 weeks, and all of them involved some kind of medical complication.”
Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) said late Wednesday afternoon that he has not looked at the bill. A House Republicans spokeswoman said both Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) and House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer (R-Garner) spent the day in meetings and therefore had not had an opportunity to examine the legislation.
An explanation attached to the bill states:
This bill provides that a specialized outpatient surgical facility is subject to certificate of need requirements prior to being offered or developed in Iowa. The bill defines “specialized outpatient surgical facility”; requires that, in addition to all other criteria that must be met by such a facility, a certificate of need may only be granted if the facility will be located in close proximity to a hospital that provides the appropriate level of perinatal care for its patients; and directs the department of public health to adopt rules to determine the certificate of need application fee for such facilities. The bill takes effect upon enactment and is applicable to specialized outpatient surgical facilities offered or developed in the state on or after the effective date of the bill.
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