On Tuesday, Republicans on an Iowa House subcommittee voted to advance a bill that would mandate K-12 students receive instruction on fetal development based on the work of an anti-abortion group. HF 2031 would require the health curriculum in both public and accredited private elementary, middle and high schools to include a “high-definition ultrasound video, […]
Iowa Legislature
Posted inCommunity/News
Bill to remove protection against gender identity discrimination from Iowa Civil Rights Act gets a scheduled hearing
Since taking control of both chambers of the Iowa Legislature in 2017, Republicans have repeatedly passed discriminatory legislation targeting transgender Iowans with the full support of Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has signed those bills and other anti-LGBTQ legislation into law. But even when pushing through those bills almost exclusively on party-line votes, Republicans still understood […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House Republicans advance a bill to cut qualifications for running a program giving anti-abortion centers millions in funds
In 2022, Republicans in the Iowa Legislature pushed through a bill creating the More Options for Maternal Support (MOMS) program, which would use tax dollars to fund privately run anti-abortion centers — which call themselves “pregnancy resource centers” — across the state. Gov. Kim Reynolds touted the program as an important part of her anti-abortion […]
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes special education changes, income tax cuts in Condition of the State speech
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she plans to continue work this year on cutting taxes and consolidating and reorganizing Iowa’s state government systems with a focus on special education, boards and commissions and mental health care providers. The governor gave her Condition of the State address in the Iowa House Tuesday evening as winter […]
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‘More than 1,000 books’ removed from Iowa schools, as districts work to comply with new state book ban; Scholastic apologizes for book fair ‘bigot button’
The impact of the book banning provisions in SF 496, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May, is becoming clearer as the Des Moines Register continues to update its database of books pulled from classrooms and school libraries. “More than 1,000 books have already been removed from 39 public school districts,” the Register […]
Posted inCommunity/News, Statewide
Where do abortion rights start and stop? A quick guide to Iowa and its neighbor states
As of this article’s publication, abortion up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy remained legal in Iowa. But that was only because a state district court judge issued a temporary injunction stopping enforcement of a near-total ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on July 14. Unless […]
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Amid an anti-LGBTQ culture war in Iowa schools, the GSA is a safe space — with constitutional protections
If you’ve seen a student-organized drag show or queer rights protest over the past couple decades, odds are a GSA is behind it. GSAs — gender-sexuality alliances — serve as both social clubs and advocacy orgs for LGBTQ students, those questioning their identity and straight, cisgender allies in middle school, high school and college, and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Insurance company ‘orchestrated the bankruptcy’ of a Coralville clinic to get tort reform passed in Iowa, court file claims
An insurance company engineered a record-setting medical malpractice judgment against an Iowa clinic as part of a successful scheme to have state lawmakers approve tort-reform legislation this year, according to a court filing by the clinic’s lawyers. In March 2022, a Johnson County jury awarded more than $97.4 million to the family of a boy […]
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As the governor prepares to sign a new, fast-tracked abortion ban into law, ACLU of Iowa prepares its legal challenge
The ACLU of Iowa has filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court challenging the new ban on almost all abortions in the state, passed by Republican lawmakers during their special session on Tuesday. The ACLU is representing Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH), the Emma Goldman Clinic and PPH Medical Director Dr. Sarah Trexler, […]
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Gov. Reynolds calls a special session of the Iowa legislature to pass a new abortion ban
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation calling the Iowa Legislature into a special session that starts at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday for “the sole and single purpose” of passing what would be one of the country’s strictest bans on abortion. “I believe the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause […]
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Drag ordinances in three Iowa cities are unconstitutional, argues ACLU of Iowa
This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. On Tuesday, the ACLU of Iowa sent letters to the city councils of Dyersville, Pella and Waukee advising them to revise their ordinances restricting drag shows because they are unconstitutional. All three […]
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Sen. Pam Jochum replaces Sen. Zach Wahls as Iowa Senate minority leader
Iowa Senate Democrats voted Wednesday evening to elect Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, to replace Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, as Senate minority leader. Iowa Democrats left the meeting at the Iowa State Capitol at 9 p.m., referring questions to Jochum’s office. The move came after Wahls’ office announced via email Friday the office was ending the […]
