Chuck Hurley, vice president and chief council of the evangelical group The Family Leader, on Thursday stunned lawmakers in Iowa when he asked them if they wish they had been aborted.
At a state Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Thursday, lawmakers discussed Senate Study Bill 3143, which would ban most abortions by making it a felony for doctors to terminate pregnancies if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
The committee heard testimony from people who both oppose and support the bill. But Hurley was the only guest who drew audible gasps from the committee.
"We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourself," Hurley explained. "That includes... every woman who has had difficult decisions to make."
"There's one truth that we can't argue away: that baby is a baby," he continued. "I just want to ask, not a rhetorical question, an actual question. Is there anybody in this room -- let me preface it by saying you're rule makers, the Golden Rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated."
"Is there anybody in this room who honest to God wishes that they had been aborted?" Hurley asked.
With that, the room erupted into groans and verbal objections.
"That's what we're talking about," Hurley stated. "Because we know that's a baby in the womb, you are advancing legislation to protect those babies. Because none of us held up our hands. It's true. That's the greatest rule of all."
