Measures Include a Restoration of the Iowa Family Planning Network, Expanded Medicaid Postpartum Coverage, and a Constitutional Amendment Protecting Reproductive Freedom
Des Moines, IA — Legislators in the Iowa House today unveiled a package of bills to expand and protect Iowans’ reproductive rights and access to health care, as their extremist Republican counterparts continue to work to outlaw abortion and fund anti-abortion centers.
As part of their “People Over Politics” agenda, House Democratic leaders announced a series of bills that includes restoration of the Iowa Family Planning Network that offered a 90/10 federal funding match for birth control services, extending the Medicaid postpartum eligibility from 60 days to twelve months, and a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom.
“It’s empowering to see Iowa lawmakers standing up for the people they serve and working to protect and expand Iowans’ rights and access to health care, including abortion, instead of continuing to burn down what used to be a strong system of access to all reproductive health care,” said Mazie Stilwell, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa. “This agenda reflects the values of Iowans, a growing majority of whom support keeping abortion safe and legal. Every Iowan deserves the right to control their bodies, futures and the decision of when and how to start or expand their family. Instead of trying to take away Iowans’ freedom to choose their own reproductive health care, Democratic legislators are showing they want to safeguard it for generations to come.”
Twenty House Republicans earlier this legislative session signed onto an extreme total abortion ban that would have put a bounty on anyone aiding or abetting someone seeking an abortion. Lawmakers also introduced a bill banning medication abortion, which account for nearly 80 percent of abortions in Iowa. Both failed to make it through the first funnel earlier this month.
House and Senate Republican leaders said they instead are awaiting a decision from the Iowa Supreme Court regarding Gov. Kim Reynolds’ effort to revive a law banning abortion at about six weeks. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for April 11.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa (PPAI) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a mission of fostering and preserving a social and political climate favorable to reproductive health. To meet this mission, PPAI engages in lobbying, issues education, and supporter mobilization.
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