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Reproductive rights advocates rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2023.
(Photo: Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Reproductive Rights Advocates Blast Iowa GOP's Special Session to Ban Abortion
"Iowa's situation is devastating, and unfortunately, it's not novel—it is yet another glance at the ugly reality of how far anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to go to attack our fundamental freedoms," lamented NARAL.
Jul 10, 2023
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa on Monday led calls for reproductive rights defenders to "show up, speak out, and fight like hell to keep abortion safe and legal" in the Hawkeye State as its Republican-controlled Legislature prepares to convene a special session Tuesday seeking to ban almost all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Last week, GOP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called state lawmakers back to Des Moines for the sole purpose of passing a new abortion ban. Current state law allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Less than a week before the U.S. Supreme Court revoked half a century of federal abortion rights in June 2022, Iowa's highest court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to the medical procedure, paving the way for the state Legislature to pass even stricter anti-choice laws.
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy."
Reynolds said in a statement that "Iowans have elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn and, in doing so, they have voted strongly in support of pro-life principles and against the arbitrary destruction of innocent, defenseless lives."
However, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa noted that more than 6 in 10 Iowa voters "want to keep abortion safe and legal."
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy," the group said.
The ACLU of Iowa warned that the proposed legislation "would ban 98% of abortions" in the state.
"Let's call it what it is: A near-total ban on abortion. Full stop," the group said.
NARAL Pro-Choice America tweeted: "Right now, abortion is legal in Iowa. But the state already has gaps in reproductive healthcare access and providers. This ban will dramatically intensify them, especially for historically marginalized groups that already face immense barriers to care."
"Iowa's situation is devastating, and unfortunately, it's not novel—it is yet another glance at the ugly reality of how far anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to go to attack our fundamental freedoms," the group added.
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planned parenthoodabortionacluiowaiowa legislaturekim reynoldsnaral pro-choice americareproductive rightsrepublican partyu.s. supreme courtiowa abortion rights
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa on Monday led calls for reproductive rights defenders to "show up, speak out, and fight like hell to keep abortion safe and legal" in the Hawkeye State as its Republican-controlled Legislature prepares to convene a special session Tuesday seeking to ban almost all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Last week, GOP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called state lawmakers back to Des Moines for the sole purpose of passing a new abortion ban. Current state law allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Less than a week before the U.S. Supreme Court revoked half a century of federal abortion rights in June 2022, Iowa's highest court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to the medical procedure, paving the way for the state Legislature to pass even stricter anti-choice laws.
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy."
Reynolds said in a statement that "Iowans have elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn and, in doing so, they have voted strongly in support of pro-life principles and against the arbitrary destruction of innocent, defenseless lives."
However, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa noted that more than 6 in 10 Iowa voters "want to keep abortion safe and legal."
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy," the group said.
The ACLU of Iowa warned that the proposed legislation "would ban 98% of abortions" in the state.
"Let's call it what it is: A near-total ban on abortion. Full stop," the group said.
NARAL Pro-Choice America tweeted: "Right now, abortion is legal in Iowa. But the state already has gaps in reproductive healthcare access and providers. This ban will dramatically intensify them, especially for historically marginalized groups that already face immense barriers to care."
"Iowa's situation is devastating, and unfortunately, it's not novel—it is yet another glance at the ugly reality of how far anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to go to attack our fundamental freedoms," the group added.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa on Monday led calls for reproductive rights defenders to "show up, speak out, and fight like hell to keep abortion safe and legal" in the Hawkeye State as its Republican-controlled Legislature prepares to convene a special session Tuesday seeking to ban almost all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Last week, GOP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called state lawmakers back to Des Moines for the sole purpose of passing a new abortion ban. Current state law allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Less than a week before the U.S. Supreme Court revoked half a century of federal abortion rights in June 2022, Iowa's highest court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to the medical procedure, paving the way for the state Legislature to pass even stricter anti-choice laws.
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy."
Reynolds said in a statement that "Iowans have elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn and, in doing so, they have voted strongly in support of pro-life principles and against the arbitrary destruction of innocent, defenseless lives."
However, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa noted that more than 6 in 10 Iowa voters "want to keep abortion safe and legal."
"We need everyone to fight back against this attack on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy," the group said.
The ACLU of Iowa warned that the proposed legislation "would ban 98% of abortions" in the state.
"Let's call it what it is: A near-total ban on abortion. Full stop," the group said.
NARAL Pro-Choice America tweeted: "Right now, abortion is legal in Iowa. But the state already has gaps in reproductive healthcare access and providers. This ban will dramatically intensify them, especially for historically marginalized groups that already face immense barriers to care."
"Iowa's situation is devastating, and unfortunately, it's not novel—it is yet another glance at the ugly reality of how far anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to go to attack our fundamental freedoms," the group added.
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LATEST NEWS
Head of Largest US Teachers Union Warns Trump Budget Law Will Worsen Child Hunger Crisis
"These are not abstract numbers," wrote National Education Association president Becky Pringle. "These are real children who show up to school eager to learn but are instead distracted by hunger."
Aug 13, 2025
The leader of the largest teachers union in the United States is sounding the alarm over the impact that President Donald Trump's newly enacted budget law will have on young students, specifically warning that massive cuts to federal nutrition assistance will intensify the nation's child hunger crisis.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA)—which represents millions of educators across the U.S.—wrote for Time magazine earlier this week that "as families across America prepare for the new school year, millions of children face the threat of returning to classrooms without access to school meals" under the budget measure that Trump signed into law last month after it cleared the Republican-controlled Congress.
Estimates indicate that more than 18 million children nationwide could lose access to free school meals due to the law's unprecedented cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, which are used to determine eligibility for free meals in most U.S. states.
The Trump-GOP budget law imposes more strict work-reporting requirements on SNAP recipients and expands the mandates to adults between the ages of 55 and 64 and parents with children aged 14 and older. The Congressional Budget Office said earlier this week that the more aggressive work requirements would kick millions of adults off SNAP over the next decade—with cascading effects for children and other family members who rely on the program.
"Educators see this pain every day, and that's why they go above and beyond—buying classroom snacks with their own money—to support their students."
Pringle wrote in her Time op-ed that "our children can't learn if they are hungry," adding that as a middle school science teacher she has seen first-hand "the pain that hunger creates."
"Educators see this pain every day, and that's why they go above and beyond—buying classroom snacks with their own money—to support their students," she wrote.
The NEA president warned that cuts from the Trump-GOP law "will hit hardest in places where families are already struggling the most, especially in rural and Southern states where school nutrition programs are a lifeline to many."
"In Texas, 3.4 million kids, nearly two-thirds of students, are eligible for free and reduced lunch," Pringle wrote. "In Mississippi, 439,000 kids, 99.7% of the student population, were eligible for free and reduced-cost lunch during the 2022-23 school year."
"These are not abstract numbers," she added. "These are real children who show up to school eager to learn but are instead distracted by hunger and uncertainty about when they will eat again. America's kids deserve better.
Pringle's op-ed came as school leaders, advocates, and lawmakers across the country braced for the impacts of Trump's budget law.
"We're going to see cuts to programs such as SNAP and Medicaid, resulting in domino effects for the children we serve," Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) said during a recent gathering of lawmakers and experts. "For many of our communities, these policies mean life or death."
Trump's Occupation of D.C. Egged on by Corporate Leaders: Lever
In some cases, corporate groups have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
Aug 13, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's military occupation of Washington, D.C. has been egged on for months by corporate lobbyists. In some cases, they have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
According to a report Tuesday in The Lever:
Last February, the American Investment Council, private equity's $24 million lobbying shop, penned a letter to D.C. city leaders demanding "immediate action" to address an "alarming increase" in crime.
That letter was published as an exclusive by Axios with the headline: "Downtown D.C. Business Leaders Demand Crime Solutions."
But far from a group of beleaguered mom-and-pops, the letter's signatories "included some of the biggest trade groups on K Street," The Lever observed:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which boasts its status as the largest business organization in the world; the National Retail Federation, a powerful retail alliance representing giants like Walmart and Target; and Airlines for America, which represents the major U.S. airlines, among others. These lobbying juggernauts spend tens of millions of dollars every year lobbying federal lawmakers to get their way in Washington."
It was one of many efforts by right-wing groups to agitate for a more fearsome police crackdown in the city and oppose criminal justice reforms.
On multiple occasions, business groups and police unions have helped to thwart efforts by the D.C. city council to rewrite the city's criminal code, which has not been updated in over a century, to eliminate many mandatory minimum sentences and reduce sentences for some nonviolent offenses.
The reforms were vetoed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2023. After the veto was overridden by the city council, Democrats helped Republicans pass a law squashing the reforms, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden.
In 2024, groups like the Chamber of Commerce pushed the "Secure D.C." bill in the city council, which expanded pre-trial detention, weakened restrictions on chokeholds, and limited public access to police disciplinary records.
At the time, business groups lauded these changes as necessary to fight the post-pandemic crime spike D.C. was experiencing.
But crime rates in D.C. have fallen precipitously, to a 30-year low over the course of 2024. As a press release from the U.S. attorney's office released on January 3, 2025 stated: "homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels."
Nevertheless, as Trump sends federal troops into D.C., many in the corporate world are still cheering.
In a statement Monday, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce described itself as a "strong supporter" of the Home Rule Act, which Trump used to enact his federal crackdown.
The Washington Business Journal quoted multiple consultancy executives—including Yaman Coskum, who exclaimed that "It is about time somebody did something to make D.C. great again," and Kirk McLaren who said, "If local leaders won't protect residents and businesses, let's see if the federal government will step in and do what's necessary to create a safe and prosperous city."
Despite crime also being on the decline in every other city he has singled out—Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago—Trump has said his deployment of federal troops "will go further."
Newsom Says He's Moving Ahead With New California Maps That 'Will Be Devastating for MAGA'
"California will now draw new, more 'beautiful maps,'" wrote Newsom's press office in a Trump-style social media post.
Aug 13, 2025
The office of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday night revealed that the governor was going ahead with plans to redraw California's congressional map with the goal of counteracting Republicans' planned mid-decade gerrymander in Texas.
In a post on X, Newsom's press office made the announcement while openly parodying the social media posting style of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!!" the post began. "CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM—YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR—THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR 'MAGA.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"
The announcement came less than two days after Newsom sent a letter to Trump warning the president that he was "playing with fire" by pushing Texas to draw a new map that independent analysts have estimated could net Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
At the time, Newsom also left open the possibility of backing off his threat to redraw California's map if Texas did likewise.
"If you will not stand down I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," Newsom said. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it."
Newsom then informed Trump that he had until late Tuesday to respond to his letter before the California governor took action.
Before redrawing California's map, however, Newsom would have to undo his state's current redistricting process through a special ballot initiative this fall, as for years California's districts have been determined by an independent commission.
As the gerrymandering wars have escalated, pro-democracy watchdog Common Cause this week unveiled a new set of standards for any redistricting effort that includes measures such as using independent commissions and avoiding racial discrimination aimed at reducing the political power of minorities throughout the country.
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