~by Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst
January 26, 2024
As we wrapped up another week of the Iowa Legislature, Iowans have seen coverage of several new bills introduced related to reproductive freedom.
While the Governor’s abortion ban is currently on hold as it is reviewed by the Iowa Supreme Court, some GOP lawmakers are still working on other bills to strip away reproductive freedom. It’s clear some of these politicians won’t stop until they have the power to stand in the doctor’s office with Iowans and healthcare providers to make decisions for them. It’s just wrong.
As these lawmakers continue to play politics, Iowans haven’t changed their position at all: a strong majority of Iowans support reproductive freedom and believe that private healthcare decisions belong between an individual, their family, and their doctor. They do not want politicians to interfere in their lives and certainly not their own healthcare decisions.
I recognize this topic has become a centerpiece in the on-going culture wars right now and some believe it’s too uncomfortable to talk about with others. It seems any rational conversation about reproductive healthcare has been taken over by folks just trying to gain political ground and politicians who want to make decisions for others.
It’s so frustrating, but it can’t be ignored.
I believe that everyone deserves the right to make their own healthcare decisions, especially when it comes to reproductive care and abortion. Lawmakers and politicians have no place interfering in someone else’s decisions about when or how to start a family.
If the Iowa Legislature takes any action on reproductive freedom this year, it should be in line with what Iowans want and deserve. Here are just a few common sense things we can do this year to protect reproductive freedom:
Make birth control accessible through a pharmacist without a prescription. Our plan would allow Iowans to access birth control safely and easily via a pharmacist. Pharmacists, especially in rural Iowa, are an important resource and critical access point for care and could help mitigate barriers and expand access to contraception. Pharmacists in 20 other states are already able to prescribe birth control without a prescription from a doctor.
Extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. Thanks to a recent change to federal law, states are now able to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for up to a year after a baby is born. It would be a major improvement from the current 60 day limit in Iowa, which leaves too many moms without health coverage at all. As maternal mortality continues to rise here in Iowa, this would save lives and reduce barriers to accessing health care, including critical mental health services.
Guarantee reproductive freedom by adding it to Iowa’s Constitution. While the issue is still tied up in the courts right now, the best thing we can do is to guarantee reproductive freedom in Iowa’s Constitution. While it’s a long process to change our constitution, we should start now and give Iowans the final say on it.
Restore family planning programs under Medicaid. Several years ago, the Governor and GOP lawmakers cut access to reproductive healthcare programs that resulted in a rise in the abortion and Sexually Transmitted Infections rates in Iowa. Since it obviously had the opposite effect it was intended to, we should restore those services and make them accessible to Iowans again.
I think it’s time to put politics aside, forget the culture wars, and actually listen to Iowans. They’re tired of politics and the special interests getting in the way of things they want, like reproductive freedom.
They want us to put people over politics.
