“All of us are here today to stand in solidarity with all of you, as we stand with child-bearing people all over the country,” Luana Nelson-Brown told the more than 2,000 people gathered on the West Terrace of the Iowa State Capitol on Sunday afternoon for the Iowans for Reproductive Justice Rally. Nelson-Brown is the […]
Reproductive Rights
Emma Goldman Clinic’s founding mothers reflect on ‘the beauty of choice,’ half a century of Roe and the future of abortion care
Deb Nye was 23 when she heard the news: The Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade had just affirmed a person’s right to choose to have an abortion. It was late January 1973, and light snow covered the ground. She ran two blocks to the University of Iowa College of Law building, crossing over […]
Iowa Supreme Court rejects key part of Gov. Reynolds’ attempt to impose further abortion restrictions
The Iowa Supreme Court has rejected Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request to reconsider its recent abortion decision, keeping in place its instruction to a lower court to use the “undue burden standard” to determine if abortion restrictions violate the rights of Iowans guaranteed by the state constitution. Reynolds’ petition for a rehearing of a case regarding […]
Gov. Reynolds won’t ask lawmakers to outlaw abortion yet, will try to get the courts to do that
Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Wednesday she’s waiting until state courts decide whether to revive a never-enforced 2018 law banning almost all abortions in Iowa, before she’ll announce if there will be a special session of the Iowa Legislature this year to further restrict reproductive rights. The so-called “fetal heartbeat bill” was struck down as […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds announces plans to severely restrict abortion in Iowa
Four days after the U.S. Supreme Court discarded half a century of established legal precedent to end constitutional protection for the right to an abortion, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she’s taking action to almost completely ban abortion in Iowa. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision reaffirms that states have the right to protect the innocent and […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, rescinding a right for the first time in its history
“As of today, this Court holds, a State can always force a woman to give birth, prohibiting even the earliest abortions,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote, summing up what the Republican-appointed majority on the U.S. Supreme Court did in its decision Friday that stripped Americans of the federally protected right to abortion. “A State can thus […]
Iowa Supreme Court slashes abortion rights protections, Reynolds calls decision ‘a significant victory’
Just four years after its landmark decision establishing the fundamental right to an abortion as not only protected by the Iowa Constitution, but having greater protection under the state constitution than under the U.S. Constitution, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the right is not in the Iowa Constitution, allowing a state-mandated 24-hour […]
Photo Gallery: Hundreds march in Iowa City ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ protest
In the second week of protests in Iowa City following the leaked draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court — which is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and undermine decades of precedent for reproductive rights and right to privacy — hundreds of Iowans rallied on the University of Iowa Pentacrest on Saturday, as part […]
‘I think our democracy is absolutely on the line’: Christina Bohannan talks about why she is running for Congress
Christina Bohannan opened her campaign office in Iowa City on Saturday, with a brief speech about why she is running for Congress in the newly drawn 1st District. “I think we all know there is so much at stake in this election in 2022,” Bohannan, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, told the […]
‘There is joy in fighting for your freedom’: Roe advocates process fears, hopes for new reproductive rights movement in IC
More than 100 people gathered on the Pentacrest on Sunday afternoon in support of reproductive rights. The “Hands Off Roe” rally was the second Pentacrest rally of the weekend in response to the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion declaring “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” before ruling no pregnant American has the […]
Gov. Reynolds avoids answering questions about whether she would support banning abortion ‘without exceptions’
Gov. Kim Reynolds avoided giving a direct answer about whether she wants to outlaw abortions without any exceptions on Wednesday afternoon. As Reynolds was exiting a meeting in Marion’s Thomas Park, KCRG reporter Ethan Stein asked about her abortion stance. “Do you want the legislature to send you a bill that would ban abortion in […]
Photo Gallery: Downtown Des Moines Reproductive Rights “Abort the State” Protest
Hundreds of people gathered at Cowles Common in downtown Des Moines on Wednesday night to protest in response to the leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and declaring there is legal protection for abortion provided by the U.S. Constitution, regardless of circumstances. The “Abort the State” protest was organized […]

