Iowa House crops livestream to hide lawmaker’s pro-abortion rights T-shirt

The Iowa House’s livestream zoomed in for a close-up of a Democratic lawmaker on Tuesday, hiding her pro-abortion rights T-shirt during a debate on the heartbeat abortion bill.

State Rep. Amy Nielsen (D) stood to address the chamber during a debate on the fetal heartbeat bill, the Des Moines Register reported Thursday. The nation’s strictest abortion law would ban the procedure for most by the sixth week of pregnancy.

Nielsen was wearing a shirt from the popular Des Moines-based retailer Raygun that reads “The GOP: Creating Government Small Enough to Fit Inside Your Vagina.”

However, Nielsen’s shirt was only briefly viewed by those watching the debate on the House live video feed because the camera operator quickly zoomed in to crop the shirt out of the feed.

{mosads}

The video cropped tightly so only Nielsen’s shoulders and head were visible.

Representatives speaking at the podium both before and after Nielsen were shown on video from the waist up, the Register reported.

The live stream is run by the chief clerk’s office, which is staffed by the majority party. 

Neither Iowa House Republicans nor the chief clerk’s office responded to the Register’s request for comment.

House Rules state that “a member who wishes to speak in debate shall be appropriately attired,” and specifies that male members must wear a coat or tie. Women’s apparel and T-shirts are not addressed. 

Nielsen told the Register that her outfit was “absolutely” within proper limits.

The lawmaker took to Twitter to call out House Republicans for being “afraid” to show her shirt.

Apparently, the @IAHouseGOP is afraid to show you my shirt on the live feed, so here you go. #ialegis #WeWontGoBack #iapolitics pic.twitter.com/xhAZZ8CC9T

— Amy Nielsen (@RepAmyNielsen) May 2, 2018

On Wednesday, the House passed the bill, sending it to the desk of Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).