Iowa
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Attorney tells Iowa Supreme Court abortion ban should stay blocked
The Iowa Supreme Court Thursday heard arguments concerning the injunction on the near-total abortion ban passed is a special session last summer. Peter Im, staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told the justices and reporters in a press conference afterward that allowing the ban to go into effect would be “devastating.” “It bans…
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In bloom: When & where to see tulips in Iowa
If you’re wondering when and where to see tulips in Iowa, look no further. Here are several festivals and farms to check out this spring.
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Bayer/Monsanto has poured money into Iowa politics for years
As Bayer, the major pharmaceutical and biotech company, lobbies the Iowa Legislature to enact legislation to protect it from civil suits related to its pesticide products, it is worth noting that Bayer and Monsanto—which Bayer purchased in 2018—have collectively poured over $530,000 into the campaign coffers of Iowa’s state-level politicians since 2002. From 2002-2018, Monsanto…
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Bills to support anti-abortion centers, expand postpartum Medicaid set to be law
Two bills affecting Iowans’ reproductive health passed out of the Iowa House Wednesday afternoon and could soon become law. Postpartum Medicaid SF 2251 passed the House 70-25, and it would restrict the number of people who qualify for postpartum Medicaid coverage in order to expand coverage to a full year. A fiscal note attached to…
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Read a new book from one of these 10 Iowa authors
You probably have heard all about “The Bridges of Madison County.” Or how occasional Iowa resident Mark Twain counted Muscatine’s sunsets among the best he’d ever seen (and he was a world traveler!). Or how Kurt Vonnegut finished “Slaughterhouse-Five” at the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop. But did you know the state of Iowa continues to…
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As some Iowa lawmakers vilify birth control, here’s what it actually does
When Dr. Emily Boevers, an OB-GYN in Waverly, first sits down with patients for birth control consultations, she asks them a series of questions about why they want to use it, and for how long. “The thing that I think is really important to keep in mind about birth control is that these are hormonal…
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How ‘fetal personhood’ laws can limit family-planning options like IVF
Enshrining the idea of life beginning at fertilization, before implantation, would threaten Iowan’s abilities to access certain kinds of contraceptives and to in vitro fertilization (IVF). It would also be a serious blow to reproductive freedom. Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University, explained how the logic works. “If fertilization is the moment of…
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‘Fighting every day’: Planned Parenthood hosts rally at Iowa Capitol
Danika Jacobsen, a senior at Valley High School in West Des Moines, has not learned much about reproductive health or anatomy in school science classes. Instead, Jacobsen said, she’s mostly taught herself. “Apparently, anything other than ‘vagina’ is taboo,’” she said Thursday at an Iowa Capitol rally hosted by Planned Parenthood. “Society has fabricated these…
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A handful of Iowa House Republicans trying to tie birth control to abortion
Some Iowa House Republicans are attempting to bog down a bipartisan bill to legalize over-the-counter birth control by adding amendments that compare birth control to abortion, limiting how long a person can receive birth control under the bill, and adding penalties for pimps. All the House Members who introduced the various amendments are on record…
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1,300 Iowa moms, 400 babies could lose health coverage under postpartum Medicaid bill
Thousands of Iowa women and hundreds of babies could lose Medicaid coverage under a bill that passed through the Iowa Senate. On Monday, the Iowa Legislative Services Agency released a fiscal note for SF 2251, a bill that would expand postpartum Medicaid coverage but limit eligibility for pregnant people. The agency notes that the Iowa…
