Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org  

DES MOINES, Iowa, April 26, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Operation Rescue will join Iowa Right to Life and other groups in a press conference to be held tomorrow at the Iowa State Capitol to support the passage of House File 5, the Fetal Pain Bill, in light of new information was released yesterday that gives new urgency to the passage of this bill.

Press Conference details:

When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 1:00 PM
Where: Room 116 on the 1st floor, Iowa State Capitol, located at East 9th and Grand, Des Moines, Iowa.

Operation Rescue has announced that the Maryland Board of Physicians has launched a full investigation into LeRoy Carhart's late-term abortion business in Germantown, Maryland, that could result in the loss of his medical license in that state. The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Operation Rescue.

Carhart moved his late-term abortion business to Maryland after his home state of Nebraska passed the first Fetal Pain law that bans abortions after 20 weeks when studies show that a pre-born baby can feel pain. Iowa's HF 5 is modeled after that ground-breaking law.

Carhart announced plans to open a late-term abortion clinic in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the next few months even though the community has expressed overwhelming opposition to the location of an abortion clinic there. With his license in jeopardy in Maryland, Carhart seeks to reestablish his lucrative and risky late-term abortion business in Iowa, one of the last states to provide protections for late-term babies.

HF 5 passed in the House and now is stalled in the Senate. The Legislative session ends on Friday, compounding the urgency of the situation.

"We are asking Iowa to join the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Idaho in enacting protections for women and their viable babies, which can feel the pain of abortion," said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger. "Carhart was driven out of Nebraska, blocked from relocating to Kansas, and now faces discipline in Maryland. Iowa needs to take quick action to avoid becoming a 'safe haven' state for dangerous and unscrupulous abortionists like Carhart. The last thing Iowa needs is to become the nation's Late-term Abortion Capital."

Sullenger will be present at the press conference to discuss her complaint, and present evidence of the dangers of late-term abortions, such as the ones Carhart plans to bring to Iowa.

About Operation Rescue®
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in 2006.  From there, Operation Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical mandates.