No Medicaid abortions in Iowa in past two years
DES MOINES – Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday issued the following statement after the United States Senate took up Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s proposal to protect the most vulnerable, the unborn, while still preserving funding for women’s healthcare.
“I applaud Iowa Senator Joni Ernst for once again being the voice of Iowa common sense by standing up for the most vulnerable, the unborn. The videos that have emerged of Planned Parenthood doctors and leaders casually negotiating the sale of aborted babies’ body parts are sickening and disturbing. It’s clear that Senator Ernst believes, like me, that every life is sacred and worth protecting,” said Reynolds.
In Iowa, Planned Parenthood does not receive state funds for abortions. There is not a line item in the state’s budget for Planned Parenthood. Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds have ensured that Planned Parenthood is never reimbursed for an abortion. There have been zero taxpayer-reimbursed Medicaid abortion procedures over the past two years.
Because Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds believe strongly that every life is worth protecting, they have asked the Iowa Department of Public Health to thoroughly review the funding the Legislature appropriated for women’s health and the Family Planning Block Grant to ensure it does not and will not ever fund abortions or operations related to abortion procedures.
