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Reproductive Rights

Planned Parenthood seeks injunction against Gov. Reynolds’ ban on surgical abortions (Updated)

Posted on by Paul Brennan

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 […]

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Gov. Reynolds is attempting to ban surgical abortions as ‘nonessential’ medical procedures during COVID-19 crisis

Posted on by Paul Brennan

On Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an emergency proclamation that, among other things, banned all “nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures that utilize personal protective equipment” for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency in the state. On Friday, the governor’s spokesperson told Barbara Rodriguez of the Des Moines Register that ban includes surgical abortions. In […]

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Letter to the editor: The tangled concept of personhood

Posted on by Letters

Personhood? Who has recently tangled themselves in that labyrinth and fallen for the heartbeat cliche? And how ironic that the Christians, for millennia the purveyors of patriarchal prejudice and, too often, downright hate, with its resulting mayhem, how ironic that they have fixated on the heart as an indicator of anything. […]

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Judge strikes down Iowa’s ‘fetal heartbeat’ law

Posted on by Paul Brennan

A district court judge in Polk County struck down Iowa’s so-called “fetal heartbeat” law on Tuesday. Judge Michael Huppert ruled the law, which banned almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected at six weeks, violates the state’s constitution. “We are grateful the Court blocked Gov. Reynolds’ egregious attempt to ban safe, legal […]

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ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic sue to overturn Iowa’s new abortion law

Posted on by Paul Brennan

Update: On June 1, Polk County District Court Judge Michael Huppert issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the new abortion law at the conclusion of the first hearing on the lawsuit. Attorneys representing the state did not object to the injunction. A court challenge to Iowa’s new law banning most abortions after a fetal […]

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‘She knows it’s unconstitutional’: Gov. Reynolds signs the nation’s most severe abortion restrictions into law

Posted on by Paul Brennan

Surrounding herself with small children to create an attractive photo-op, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 359 on Friday afternoon, imposing on Iowa the most severe abortion restrictions in the nation. The new law bans almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which typically happens around six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women even suspect they are pregnant. “This is about life and I believe life is life, whether it’s inside the womb or outside the womb,” Reynolds said at the signing ceremony. […]

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‘My God, doesn’t it feel good when Republicans vote like Republicans?’: Iowa legislature passes extreme anti-abortion bill

Posted on by Paul Brennan

The Republican-controlled Iowa House and Senate passed a bill containing the most aggressive restriction on abortion in the nation during sessions that started Tuesday night and lasted into the early hours of Wednesday. SF 359 would ban almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which typically happens less than two months into […]

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