Baccam: Nunn’s new abortion stance doesn’t match his record

Nunn says he supports abortion, contraception, and fertilization treatments. But opponent Baccam says his record says otherwise.

Iowa is under a near-total abortion ban, and Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam is trying to make it US Rep. Zach Nunn’s signature issue. 

“Women should have the ability to make a decision if, when, and how they start their own families,” Baccam said.

He made his remarks at the foot of a large inflatable intrauterine device Monday in Des Moines. The giant IUD is the face of a project by Americans for Contraception. The 20-foot-tall installation, dubbed “Freeda Womb,” has been through Iowa twice to raise awareness about what Americans for Contraception sees as increasing attacks on access to contraception. 

A 20-foot-tall inflatable IUD stands in Des Moines. It belongs to Americans for Contraception which is trying to raise awareness around the need for federal protections for contraception access.

In June, Senate Republicans—including US Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa—blocked legislation that would have offered federal protections for accessing contraception. And after House Democrats tried to force a vote on the act, Nunn stood with fellow Republicans preventing its consideration. 

“He is not supportive of finding ways of making the Right to Contraception Act a reality,” Baccam told reporters after the rally.

Read more: What is Zach Nunn’s record say about his stance on reproductive rights?

Incumbency is a tremendous advantage for a candidate during reelection. But it also comes with a record. 

On the campaign trail this year, Nunn claims he supports abortion in some situations, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. He has also said he supports getting Iowans access to contraception and in vitro fertilization. However, Baccam is hammering Nunn over his past actions that complicate the picture. 

In 2018, then-state Rep. Zach Nunn supported a near-total abortion ban, regulating the procedure after six weeks. This “nearly identical” bill was eventually passed by the Iowa Legislature and is now in effect. 

In 2019, he supported a bill that defined life as beginning at fertilization. The bill—which passed the Senate—increased the criminal penalty for intentionally or accidentally causing the death of an “unborn person,” which under the bill was a fertilized egg. This language potentially opened up providers of in vitro fertilization treatment to liability over zygotes damaged in the lab. 

In 2020, Nunn was part of an effort to amend the state Constitution that it could “not be construed to recognize, grant, or secure a right to abortion.”

In 2022, Nunn ran for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District seat, and during a WHO-TV debate, he and other Republican candidates were asked if “All abortions, no exceptions, should be illegal?” Nunn’s hand was up. After winning the Republican nomination, he has since walked it back.

Polling in September suggests Iowans oppose the state’s near-total abortion ban, according to The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. 59% of Iowans and 69% of women disapprove of this new restriction. 

Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District comprises central and southwestern Iowa. It includes Des Moines, Adel, and Ottumwa.