Iowa’s House speaker is suffering from a bad case of either/or syndrome. He recently suggested that helping women choose life should come ahead of legal protections for preborn babies in the Hawkeye State, rather than supporting both types of legislation with equal focus.

“Things like looking at adoption tax credits, making sure the foster care system is very strong, I think you’re going to see us focusing on a little bit more of that side,” Pat Grassley told KCCI in mid-January.

“If we’re going to take a strong position like we have with the heartbeat [law], I think we have to look at some of the other aspects of making sure that there’s alternatives out there,” Grassley, a Republican, told the news outlet.

Iowa has a six-week abortion ban in place as of last summer. However, this law still allows hundreds of babies each month to be killed. There were 260 abortions reported by medical professionals in the state in August, the first full month the law was in effect, according to Iowa Public Radio.

Pro-life leader Maggie Dewitte pointed out to KCCI that the state can both protect preborn babies and support families.

“I think we can do both,” Dewitte said. “We care about women before their pregnancy, during their pregnancy and after their pregnancy.”

Dewitte is correct, and her group is right to advocate for protecting preborn life from the moment of conception. Iowa should support families in choosing life and do what it can to support the life-affirming pregnancy centers across the state that provide resources to mothers. However, the law should also further protect babies and their families.

Abortion is the direct and intentional killing of innocent life, and sadly some women will choose this no matter how many adoption tax credits there are or government grants. This is why the law must also provide protections for human rights. A crackdown on human rights abuses does not need to be preceded by a certain level of government spending. Rather, the government can provide material support while also using the law to prevent abortions.

No reasonable politician would oppose efforts to stop human trafficking on the grounds that the focus should just be on building shelters for its victims. It takes an all-of-the-above approach to protect human life. That is the path Iowa should take.