Bohannan pushes back on Iowa’s abortion ban, private school vouchers on the trail

Christina Bohannan is on the trail talking with students and teachers hoping to mobilize around abortion access and funding for public schools.

Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan has a little over three weeks to make the case for unseating Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. 

The race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race is going to be a tight one. Political analysts called this contest a “toss-up.” And at stops in Iowa City and Bettendorf, Bohannan emphasized how close the race is.

“This district is officially a toss-up race,” Bohannan told a crowd Friday at a stop at the University of Iowa. “In 2020, out of 400,000 votes cast, my opponent won by a margin of six.”

Back in 2020, Miller-Meeks won her seat after a lengthy recount process lasted for months. The margin then was six votes. The current district’s makeup is slightly different but still largely a Southeast Iowa seat.

This year, Democrats have a slight voter registration disadvantage this Fall, according to the most recent data. There are about 150,000 active registered Republicans and 130,000 Democrats in the 1st District. To a crowd of teachers in Bettendorf, Bohannan said turning out Democrats will be huge but so too will the pool of 127,000 “no party” voters. 

“There are very few swing districts left in this country. There are just not that many toss-up, competitive races,” Bohannan said. “This is one of them.”

Talking Iowa’s abortion ban

During her Iowa City stop, Bohannan said having read two hundred abortion-related cases in Iowa, she believed Iowa’s six-week abortion ban is “stricter than the law as it was in the mid-1800s.”

“Health care generally today is better, but that freedom to decide these things for yourself is less today than it was back when Iowa became a state,” Bohannan said.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade, Iowa was among the states that passed near-total bans based on when cardiac activity is detected in a fetus. Miller-Meeks has supported the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as Iowa’s near-total ban. Since joining Congress, she has cosponsored a 2021 Life at Conception Act which in practice would define embryos and fetuses as people from the moment of fertilization, effectively banning not just abortions but fertility procedures like in vitro fertilization.

More from Starting Line: Hytrek: Mariannette Miller-Meeks tries to have it both ways on abortion stance.

“The fundamental difference between my opponent and me is that she thinks politicians should be the ones to tell women what to do with their bodies,” Bohannan said. “I believe that women should make those decisions for themselves.”

As a state representative, Bohannan opposed a 2021 push by Iowa Republicans to amend the state Constitution to repeal the right to an abortion. 

“Roe v. Wade was a balance,” she said. “… That’s why it was accepted as law for over half a century before the court took it upon itself to take away a fundamental freedom for the first time in our country’s history.”

Bohannan on private school vouchers

Saturday morning, Bohannan answered questions with teachers as part of a town hall in Bettendorf hosted by the Iowa State Education Association. 

“Republicans, Independents and Democrats—real people in Iowa—do support public education in this state,” Bohannan said. 

A common thread, she said, on the campaign trail is teachers, principals and parents decrying the disrespect and disinvestment in public schools. 

“So many people I talk to remember a time when Iowa was number one in education,” Bohannan said. “People talk about it with such pride and nostalgia, but also a sense of loss because they see that a lot of politicians have been turning their backs on education and not listening to the people.”

Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan takes a selfie with a supporter at a town hall organized by Iowa State Education Association on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Bettendorf.

Four-day a week schools, consolidating school buildings, nd a per-pupil spending formula that isn’t keeping pace with needs have been just some of the consequences of damage done to Iowa public schools from state leaders prioritizing private schools, Bohannan said

Iowa is in year two of rolling out its private school voucher program. And while it is expected to come in over budget, it has been allocated with an unlimited General Fund appropriation. 

“I know people have reasons for wanting to send their children to private schools,” Bohannan said. “… But not at the expense of our public schools. Not at the expense of the 85% to 95% of kids who depend on our public schools. It’s not right and it’s not fair.”

Miller-Meeks has been a vocal proponent of the state’s private school vouchers.

“We are seeing in Iowa that our schools are having trouble recruiting teachers and getting them to work here. They don’t have enough teachers and they don’t have enough budget,” Bohannan said. 

She pointed to districts like North Iowa Community School District and East Union Community School District that moved to 4-day-a-week schooling as a sign of crisis. She said she would like Congress to give money to public schools with special attention to rural districts.

Election Day 2024 is on Tuesday, November 5. While Iowa allows for same day voter registration, Iowans hoping to register via mail or online have to do so by October 21. Iowans can vote early in-person starting October 16. Iowans who requested an absentee ballot to vote by mail must return them by 8 p.m. on Election Day either by mail or by hand delivering the ballot to your county auditor.