Gov. Kim Reynolds began her speech at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines on Friday by explaining she had a cold. The cold affected her voice, but did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm she showed at the annual meeting of the right-wing Christian lobbying group the Family Leader (inexplicably stylized as THE FAMiLY LEADER), […]
Abortion
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Iowa Supreme Court rules state can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood sex ed classes
The state of Iowa can ban Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) from receiving government funds to provide sex education programs, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in a decision handed down on Wednesday. The justices voted 6-1 to overturn a lower court that found the funding ban was unconstitutional. Republican leaders of the Iowa Legislature […]
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Judge strikes down Iowa’s latest attempt to impose an abortion waiting period
A District Court Judge in Johnson County ruled on Monday that a law mandating a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion is unconstitutional, and issued a permanent injunction against the state enforcing it. Gov. Kim Reynolds had signed the measure — requiring a woman to have an appointment with a doctor […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans pass an anti-abortion amendment to the Iowa Constitution
Republicans in the Iowa Senate approved an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would undermine a woman’s right to an abortion on Tuesday. Senate Joint Resolution 2 passed on a party-line vote, with all Senate Republicans voting in favor and all the chamber’s Democrats voting against it. “Everyone deserves the freedom to make medical decisions […]
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Iowa Supreme Court hears arguments in state’s attempt to ban funding for Planned Parenthood’s sex education programs
The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in the state’s appeal of a district court ruling that a 2019 law blocking Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) from receiving government grants to conduct sex education programs for Iowa teens was unconstitutional. At the time the ban on PPH was passed in 2019, the […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans push through bills eliminating gun permits and giving gunmakers new legal protections
The Iowa Senate passed two bills concerning gun sales on Monday. The first removes the requirement for a person to be licensed to buy or carry a gun, and the second provides broad immunity against lawsuits to gun manufacturers and dealers. Both bills passed the Republican-controlled chamber on party-line votes. HF 756 and HF 621 […]
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Iowa House Republicans push through an amendment to add anti-abortion language to the Iowa Constitution
Shortly after 9 on Wednesday night, the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to eliminate the existing protection for abortion rights in Iowa. The vote was 55-44, with three Republicans — Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood, Lee Hein of Monticello and David Maxwell of Gibson — joining all the chamber’s Democrats in opposing […]
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Judge blocks Iowa’s new 24-hour abortion waiting period from going into effect
A Johnson County District Court judge issued a temporary injunction on Tuesday blocking enforcement of the new 24-hour waiting period for abortions passed by the Iowa legislature last month. The waiting period was scheduled to take effect on July 1. “We’re glad that patients can seek abortion care without the burden of a state-mandated delay […]
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Planned Parenthood and ACLU of Iowa file a lawsuit challenging new abortion restriction passed by Iowa lawmakers
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a new restriction on abortion passed by the Iowa legislature earlier this month. A bill fast-tracked by Republican leaders in the legislature and passed only hours after it was introduced would mandate a 24-hour waiting period by requiring a […]
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Republicans push through new abortion restriction in Iowa legislature’s last session of 2020
Republicans in the Iowa legislature fast-tracked a bill imposing a 24-hour waiting period on women seeking an abortion. The bill was passed just hours after the new waiting period was first introduced. The quick series of votes came during the final session of the year for both the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa […]
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Judge rules Iowa’s ban on funding for Planned Parenthood’s sex education programs is unconstitutional
A state district court judge has struck down as unconstitutional Iowa’s ban on Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) receiving public grant money to provide sex education programs in the state. “The Act has no valid, ‘realistically conceivable’ purpose that serves a legitimate government interest as it is both irrationally overinclusive and under-inclusive,” Judge Paul […]
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Planned Parenthood seeks injunction against Gov. Reynolds’ ban on surgical abortions (Updated)
Update: The Reynolds administration backed off its attempt ban all surgical abortions in Iowa under the governor’s emergency ordering prohibiting “nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures that utilize personal protective equipment,” before the starting of a Wednesday afternoon hearing on the Planned Parenthood of Heartland’s request for an emergency injunction. “Rita Bettis Austen, legal director […]
