DES Moines, Iowa - A constitutional amendment on abortion is headed back to the Iowa House after passing the Senate Tuesday.
The amendment, which passed on party lines with Democratic opposition, says the Iowa Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion.
The measure is going back to the House because the Senate changed some wording in the amendment.
The amendment would take a first step toward a public vote if it passes the legislature this year.
It would then have to pass the legislature again in the next two-year general assembly before going before Iowa voters in November of 2024.
The amended Senate version states the "Constitution of the State of Iowa shall not be construed to recognize, grant, or secure a right to abortion or to require 25 the public funding of abortion."
The previous House version stated, “To defend and protect unborn children, we the people of the state of Iowa declare that this Constitution does not recognize, grant or secure a right to abortion or require the public funding of abortion.”
The Constitutional amendment comes as courts have struck down or blocked abortion laws passed by the Republican controlled Iowa legislature.
They include a 72-hour waiting period to receive an abortion and a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
A bill passed late in last year's session to require a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion has also been temporarily blocked by courts.