Iowa Democrats call out Republicans over new abortion restrictions

Democrats aim to use support for abortion rights to electoral advantage

IOWA CITY — Iowa Democrats on Monday called out Republicans over an Iowa law that took effect Monday, banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

They highlighted the risks to women’s lives, health and fertility, and emphasized the importance of protecting Iowans’ freedom to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their doctor that’s best for them and their family.

“Iowans need to know if they feel helpless, if they feel like they want to do something about this, their best opportunity to do so is at the ballot box in 99 days,” Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said during a conference call with reporters Monday.

Iowa is the latest front in a nationwide battle over abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that had affirmed a constitutional right to abortion, putting regulation back into the hands of the states.

As Iowa and other states implement abortion restrictions, Democrats hope that advocating for reproductive health care access can help them win in the 2024 general election.

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Iowa GOP: Law protects both mother and fetus

Statehouse Republicans called the new law “common sense,” and in statements to The Gazette, emphasized the law’s exceptions that allow for abortions when the life of the mother or fetus is in danger, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

The rape and incest exceptions, however, have deadline requirements that victims advocates say will be difficult to meet. And doctors say the medical exceptions as written in the law are vague and will be difficult to apply during medical emergencies.

Andrea Greiner, an OB/GYN physician from North Liberty, decried Iowa’s six-week abortion ban as “cruel” and “devastating” for patients.

Greiner said the law precludes physicians from providing the full spectrum of care to prevent long-term medical complications and save the lives of patients.

“The exceptions in this law are an illusion,” she said.

Obstetricians and gynecologists also have warned the law will worsen Iowa’s already weak system of prenatal and maternal health care. Iowa has among the fewest OB/GYNs per capita of any state, one-third of Iowa counties are considered “maternity care deserts,” according to the March of Dimes, and 61 percent of rural Iowa hospitals have no labor and delivery services.

Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said Iowa Republicans “have consistently supported the protection of life at the sound of a heartbeat.”

“(Monday), the support for protection of life becomes a reality,” Sinclair said in a statement. “Lives will be saved starting (Monday). Many Iowans have voted, volunteered and prayed to see this day finally happen.”

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office referred to a statement she made last week of court rulings allowing the law to take effect, calling it “a victory for life.”

Reynolds said she remains “deeply committed to” supporting strong families, which includes supporting pregnant mothers, promoting adoption and the importance of fatherhood, and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Democrats, though, warned of looming threats to birth control and IVF. Advocates opposed to abortion rights have said they will press for more — a law banning abortions at the moment of conception, which could jeopardize some forms of birth control and IVF.

“The Legislature is elected by the people, and for too long, the courts have stood in the way of Iowans having their voices heard on this matter,” Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said in a statement.

“We are a pro-life and pro-family state. In Iowa, we respect both the life of the unborn child and the life of the mother,” Grassley continued. “While the out-of-touch Iowa Democrats fight for abortion up until the day of birth, we will continue to fight for common sense policies that promote and protect life.”

Abortions at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy comprise 1 percent of all abortions in the country, according to the nonprofit health care advocacy organization KFF.

Statehouse Democratic leaders have proposed multiple bills addressing abortion and contraception, including a bill that would let Iowans vote on an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would guarantee the right to an abortion.

VP Harris calls for Iowans to vote as ban takes effect

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, criticized Iowa’s abortion ban going into effect in a video released Monday, saying that “what we need to do is vote” in the wake of abortion restrictions.

“Because I’m going to tell you something: when I am President of the United States, I will sign into law the protections for reproductive freedom,” Harris said. “So let’s get this done.”

Republican Party of Iowa spokesman Luke Wolff, like statehouse Republican leaders, claimed the new law does not force Iowans into choosing “between protecting women or protecting the life of babies” because of its exceptions.

“Republicans are focused on common sense policies and building on their work of supporting families and providing parents with the care and access they need,” Wolff said.

Iowa Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan said she never imagined her daughter “would have fewer rights than I did, but that’s what’s happened.”

“We are now facing a different, devastating and dangerous reality in Iowa,” Bohannan said during a news conference Monday in Iowa City. “As we have seen in other states with extreme abortion bans like this one, women’s lives, health and fertility will be put at risk when we can’t get the medical care we need.”

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A former state lawmaker and University of Iowa law professor, Bohannan is making her second bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in southeast Iowa, including Johnson County. She is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, of Ottumwa.

Bohannan criticized Miller-Meeks for co-sponsoring a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother.

“As Iowa women lose their reproductive freedom today, Rep. Miller-Meeks is watching her agenda become reality,” Bohannan said.

Miller-Meeks, in an email statement, contends Bohannan “is blatantly misrepresenting my record.”

Miller-Meeks has said she supports a national 15-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

The GOP incumbent also has sought to emphasize her support for fertility treatments while also maintaining that life begins at conception.

Miller-Meeks co-sponsored the Life At Conception Act in the 2021-22 Congress, which states life begins at fertilization and would criminalize abortion but would not allow the woman having the procedure to be prosecuted. It has no exceptions for rape, incest or the woman’s life, and does not spell out protections for fertility treatments.

She co-sponsored a non-binding resolution that “strongly supports the access to and use of IVF treatments across the United States” — but it did not offer any legal protections for patients or providers.

Miller-Meeks also supported a constitutional amendment while in the Iowa Senate “to protect life” by declaring there is no right to abortion in Iowa.

Bohannan vowed to “fight everyday to put Roe v. Wade back into federal law where it belongs and restore reproductive freedom for all Iowans.”

Miller-Meeks called Bohannan an “extremist,” who will “vote to force taxpayer funding of abortion — and for wide-open abortion laws like they have in China and Russia.”

Asked how many weeks into pregnancy are acceptable for receiving an abortion, Bohannan said such decisions should be left to women and their doctors to decide.

“What common sense tells us — what everyday Iowans know — is that every woman is different and every pregnancy is different,” Bohannan said. “You cannot legislate every pregnancy and every situation.”

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At the Iowa City news conference, Allison Bierman detailed her desire for a family and her experience with abortion.

Bierman, 31, became pregnant via IVF in 2021 only to find out later that she had an ectopic pregnancy that could not be carried to term because the fertilized egg had implanted in tissue outsider her uterus. Such pregnancies can cause life-threatening bleeding and a fallopian tube to burst or rupture without treatment.

“I needed that abortion in order to save my life,” Bierman said. “If I didn’t, I’d likely be dead. Now I’m considered at high risk for repeat ectopic pregnancy and have since had three more miscarriages, the last of which landed me in the hospital from complications. Each time I was able to count on my doctors to provide necessary medical interventions.”

When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Bierman said she felt sad, scared and angry. She called her IVF clinic for answers on what to do should abortion restrictions became law in Iowa.

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“Today, I am now forced to face the reality of this ban hanging over the heads of me and my doctors as my husband and I undergo our seventh round of IVF, this time by the blessing of a donor embryo,” Bierman said. “ … This does not feel like a free country to me when I now have to consider fleeing to another state to get lifesaving health care.”

Democrats aim to use support for abortion rights to electoral advantage

State and national polling shows most Americans support abortion rights, even in deep red states where voters have chosen abortion rights over limitations.

But despite public polling that shows most Iowans favor legal abortion in most or all cases, Iowa voters continue to elect Republican officials who have campaigned on further restricting the medical procedure in the state.

Iowa Democrats contend up to now restrictions on abortion in Iowa were merely a threat, as courts blocked previous attempts. But now that those restrictions have become reality, they believe Iowa voters minds will change.

“We’ve been saved by the courts before. That didn’t happen this time,” said Konfrst, the House Democratic leader. “ … And so what I’m asking Iowans to do is to look at the consequences of where we are now. We’re no longer talking about a threat. We’re talking about what really has happened.”

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