Despite the odds stacked against them, House Democrats are still fighting for Iowans’ reproductive rights.
On Monday, legislators introduced a package of bills to protect reproductive freedom in Iowa by:
- making birth control available over-the-counter through a pharmacist;
- adding reproductive freedom to the Iowa Constitution;
- extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months (rather than the current 60 days);
- restoring family planning programs under Medicaid which were cut by Republicans.
“Lawmakers, including us, have no place interfering in someone else’s decision about when to start a family or how to start a family,” said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst (D-Windsor Heights) at a press conference announcing the bills.
[inline-ad id=”0″]
Democrats have a minority in the House and the Senate, and it’s unlikely all four will pass.
There has been bipartisan support for making birth control available over-the-counter, though. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, even mentioned it in her Condition of the State address in January, and last Wednesday the Iowa Senate advanced her bill.
The announcement comes after a roundtable held by Vice President Kamala Harris last week in Des Moines. The conversation included state lawmakers and other Iowa leaders.
“It’s always the right time to talk about reproductive freedom, and it’s always the right time to tell Iowans that one party stands firmly with them—with the majority of Iowans—in defending their rights to make their own health care decisions,” Konfrst said.
[inline-ad id=”1″]
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa released a statement in support of the bills.
Pushing back against Republican total ban
The constitutional amendment is meant to explicitly state the Iowa Constitution protects the right to abortion—and all reproductive care—and push back on the Republican-led amendment to explicitly state the constitution doesn’t include the right to abortion.
The amendment states:
“The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom and an individual’s most private decisions concerning reproductive freedom shall not be infringed … The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes the right to reproductive freedom to be a fundamental individual right.”
It lists prenatal care, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care and miscarriage management as some of the areas covered under “reproductive freedom.”
The amendment also allows the state to regulate abortion care after fetal viability unless a health care professional judges that an abortion is necessary to protect the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant person.
Konfrst said language for the amendment was borrowed from similar amendments that have passed in Michigan and Kansas.
“We know these are proven methods and we believe that Iowans deserve to know that their constitution exists to grant rights, not to take them away,” Konfrst said.
The Republican amendment passed in 2022 but was not revisited in the 2023 session, likely due to the failure of similar amendments in other states. To amend the Iowa Constitution, the language has to pass the General Assembly twice and then be approved by voters.
Polling shows 61% of Iowans support the right to abortion in all or most cases.
[inline-ad id=”2″]
Allowing over-the-counter birth control
This bill allows Iowans over the age of 18 to get birth control from pharmacies without needing a prescription.
Under the bill, the pharmacist couldn’t require an appointment, and it also requires private insurance and Medicaid to cover birth control.
“Pharmacists, especially in rural Iowa, are an important resource and an important part of this equation,” said Rep. Lindsay James (D-Dubuque). “They are an access point for care and could help mitigate barriers and expand access to contraception.”
James pointed out that 21 states already allow pharmacists to sell birth control without a doctor’s prescription—and more states are following.
[inline-ad id=”3″]
Medicaid postpartum expansion
This bill would expand Medicaid coverage for people who give birth to 12 months, up from just two.
Medical professionals have spoken to legislators before about how challenges come up one full year after having a baby. This has led to an increase in maternal mortality in the state.
And in 2017, Republicans created a state-run family planning program for low-income Iowans. It was created specifically to exclude Planned Parenthood from getting government funding.
Since that time, nearly 75% fewer people are receiving family planning services, which has led to a rise in STIs, unintended pregnancies and abortions. Democrats would restore that under Medicaid.
“This offers full range of health care services, including birth control, STI testing, and treatment,” Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D-Ames) said. “Both of these programs … will bring our federal tax dollars back into this state, and they will be used to make sure that women and Iowans can receive the services that they need and remain healthy.”
[inline-ad id=”4″]
State of abortion in Iowa
In Iowa, abortion is legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, with one restriction: a 24-hour waiting period between the first appointment and the procedure.
Iowa Republicans are waiting for the Iowa Supreme Court to decide on a six-week abortion ban, which was signed in 2017 and has been on hold since 2018.
Despite the wait, Republicans in the House have introduced a bill to ban abortion medication in Iowa—the most common method of abortion—and a bill to ban abortion entirely.
Neither passed, but new Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has also been active in opposing reproductive rights: She signed on to a letter to national pharmacies warning them against selling abortion medication in their states, despite approval from the Department of Justice.
As a result, Walgreens announced it would not sell mifepristone in Iowa.
Konfrst reiterated that this package of bills is meant to show Iowans that House Democrats are fighting for what Iowans want. She said the bills can always be attached as amendments if they aren’t picked up on their own, and that they can be re-introduced if they don’t pass.
If Republicans don’t allow any of them, which is likely, Konfrst said that’s a message of its own.
“We are here fighting for these issues,” she said. “We’re not giving up. We’re not going home. We don’t look at the odds and say, ‘Well, it’s not going to pass, so we’re not going to talk about it.’ We think it’s important to let Iowans know where we stand and that we stand with them.”
Nikoel Hytrek
3/20/23
[inline-ad id=”5″]
If you enjoy stories like these, make sure to sign up for Iowa Starting Line’s main newsletter and/or our working class-focused Worker’s Almanac newsletter.
Have a story idea or something I should know? Email me at nikoel@new.iowastartingline.com. You can also DM me on Twitter at @n_hytrek.
Iowa Starting Line is part of an independent news network and focuses on how state and national decisions impact Iowans’ daily lives. We rely on your financial support to keep our stories free for all to read. You can contribute to us here. Find ISL on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
