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Reynolds’ statement comes as she is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to enact a 6-week abortion ban, and politicians introduce abortion ban

Des Moines, IA—Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement this week propped up her efforts to ban abortion and sell medically unlicensed anti-abortion centers, commonly called “crisis pregnancy centers”, as legitimate health care alternatives despite their dangerous practices.

Legislators introduced a bill, HF146, that would ban all medication abortions and they plan to introduce a total abortion ban in both the Iowa House and Senate. Medication abortions make up nearly 80% of abortions in Iowa. Medication abortion is a safe and effective way to terminate a pregnancy. It is a two-dose regiment of medications that the Federal Drug Administration has said is safe for patients to take at home.

Politicians have also promised to introduce a total abortion ban this legislative session. Gov. Reynolds noted in her statement that these anti-abortion centers are more widespread across the state than Planned Parenthood health centers, which operates nine health centers in Iowa that are medically licensed and provide high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. Gov. Reynolds’ and Republicans’ policies defunding Planned Parenthood from the state family planning program forced the closure of four Planned Parenthood health centers. There are 55 anti-abortion centers in Iowa, which push false, religiously-laced propaganda on pregnant people to dissuade them from having an abortion.

“Since taking control of state government six years ago, Republicans led by Gov. Reynold have completely destroyed Iowans’ access to affordable reproductive health care, causing thousands of Iowans to go without the medical care they need and deserve,” said Mazie Stilwell, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa. And on top of that, politicians are working as hard as they can to ban abortion in Iowa. Abortion is essential health care. If the governor actually cares about promoting healthy families, she should expand postpartum Medicaid coverage, restore funding to legitimate health care providers and restore funding to provide comprehensive, scientifically-based sex education for Iowa youth, instead of banning health care and making it more inaccessible. Forcing Iowans into pregnancy worsens health care and family outcomes in the state. Iowans deserve so much better.

Thousands more Iowans today are without access to contraceptive health care and are foregoing birth control, according to a new two-year Guttmacher Institute Reproductive Health Impact Study. The study tracks the impact of Iowa lawmaker policies that cut family planning services from Iowans in 2017.

The study found that 62% percent of Iowans who received public funds for family planning did not receive contraceptive care, nearly doubling, from 32% two years prior. The share of those who didn’t use any method of birth control increased from 9% to 15% over that same time span.

The result of the sharp decline in Iowans accessing reproductive health care comes as Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are skyrocketing across the state. Also, abortion rates in the state increased 42% during the two-year span of the study.

Politicians are also moving measures in both chambers to quadruple funding for anti-abortion centers, commonly referred to as “crisis pregnancy centers”, boosting their funding to $2 million. That’s despite a lack of any reported results in its less than first year.

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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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