This Week in Abortion, Iowa
This Week in Abortion, Iowa
A collection of good reads, events from the week, and policy insights.
Welcome back to your weekly roundup of good reads, legal updates, and legislative tracking on abortion. We are taking a break from the feature this week to enjoy our Friday, hope you enjoy your weekend too!
Early voting in Ohio’s special election began this week. Voters have until August 8 to SAY NO to an amendment that would make passing a pro-access ballot initiative in November more difficult. If that voter is you, get out there now - not later.
Good Reads
We’ve said before, though not in so many words, that applying national polling to state-based policymaking is not valid or helpful. That’s why we are excited to see the latest poll from the AP, which specifically and separately reports on opinions in states with the most restrictive policies.
The poll finds most people in those states support abortion up to six weeks but the numbers flip at 15 weeks, with half of responders in those states saying abortions should be banned. So, some good news and some sobering news.
This week Iowa passed a 4-week ban on abortion - one of the most restrictive in the country aside from all-out total bans. (More details below) Lyz Lenz, a local journalist, and author of BeLabored, wrote a great essay on what is happening in Iowa and was a guest on the Reid Out on MSNBC this week. Worth a watch!
State and Local Events of the Week
👎 Iowa’s legislature passed a ban on abortion after 4 weeks of pregnancy (6 weeks from the last period). There are some exceptions in the bill, including for rape and incest if reported to authorities and for some health-related circumstances, which are better than in some other states, but doctors have already said they don’t understand.
Many pro-access advocacy groups took immediate legal action but it seems that a ruling on whether the ban can be halted from going into effect won’t come until Monday at the earliest.
Iowa highlights the risk of leaving the protection of abortion rights up to state courts - deferring to precedent is a practice, not a requirement. According to the AP, “Just four years ago [the State Supreme Court] guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.” But, with a more conservative makeup, the court directly and admittedly, and seemingly unnecessarily, struck down that ruling in June setting the path for the passage of the ban.
👎 The US House voted through an anti-abortion annual defense spending bill, which thankfully can’t become law without Senate approval, which is extremely unlikely to happen.
The spending bill would prevent the Pentagon from covering abortion-related travel costs for its service members and included anti-LGBTQ policy changes. According to CBS, “Four Republicans voted against the bill, while four Democrats voted for it, support that rescued the defense measure from failure.”
Although we can all rest easy knowing that the Senate will block the worst - if not all - of the antiabortion and LGBTQ policies in the House bill, the move means that these largely unrelated and low-dollar policies are now part of the negotiation over military spending.
👎 Meanwhile, in the US Senate, Senator Tuberville is continuing to do his thing - aka prevent military promotions - which we are starting to think is great for both political parties. Biden gets a convenient, almost cartoonishly obstinate, enemy, and Republicans can tell their voters at home that it’s the Dems fault for not holding procedural votes when they had the chance. It’s a classic win-win, we all lose, scenario.
👍 The FDA officially approved over-the-counter birth control. It’s only one brand and a progestin-only pill. The manufacturer of Opill has said it wants the pill to be affordable, but we don’t yet know what that means to them, or whether insurance will cover it.
👍 Postpartum Medicaid coverage in Missouri will expand from 60 days to one year. This is some rare good news from an anti-access state and it comes without the original exceptions that sought to explicitly prevent anyone who receives an abortion from getting benefits.
Legal Updates
👍 Idaho’s abortion-as-human-trafficking law was challenged this week. The law makes it a felony to help a minor travel to receive an abortion outside the state. The suit contends that the law is overly vague and violates the rights to free speech and to travel freely between states. The challenge to free travel between states is especially critical as the law definitely pushes the boundaries of interstate regulation into new territory.