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naral pro-choice america
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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New Wins and Losses for Planned Parenthood as 'Shameful' Attacks Continue
Baton Rouge decision is "a victory for the more than 5,200 women and men in Louisiana who rely on Planned Parenthood for care through Medicaid."
Oct 19, 2015
Marking the latest round of victories and setbacks for the embattled women's healthcare provider, Texas officials on Monday cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood, just hours after a federal judge blocked a similar effort in Louisiana.
Planned Parenthood's Texas chapters will be banned from the state's Medicaid program over alleged violations portrayed in a series of controversial "sting videos" secretly filmed by the anti-choice group Center for Medical Progress. The videos, which concern Planned Parenthood's handling of fetal tissue, have been disputed as inaccurate and deceptively edited. One of the videos was filmed inside a Houston clinic.
In a letter to the state's clinics, the Texas Office of the Inspector General claimed the funding cut "will not affect access to care in this state because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas, including federally qualified health centers, Medicaid-certified rural health clinics, and other health care providers across the state that participate in the Texas Women's Health Program and Medicaid."
But Planned Parenthood said cutting the group out of the Medicaid program was nothing more than a crackdown on reproductive rights and would only serve to hurt the state's poorest residents.
"This is just another baseless attack on Texans' reproductive health care--the state is using heavily edited videos created by extremist anti-abortion activists as an excuse to block access to affordable health care," said NARAL Pro-Choice Texas executive director Heather Busby. "The ongoing politically motivated attacks on reproductive health care are creating a public health crisis. Low-income Texans have systematically been denied access to preventative health care, including birth control, and extreme state laws have forced clinics to close and devastated access to abortion."
Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood executive vice president, added, "We will fight back against this outrageous, malicious, political attack in Texas with everything we've got, and we will protect women's access to the health care they need and deserve."
Despite the setback in Texas, the law was on Planned Parenthood's side the night before in Louisiana as a federal judge ordered the state to continue paying the group Medicaid funds despite Governor Bobby Jindal's efforts to cut it out of the program. The temporary restraining order requires Louisiana to keep funding Planned Parenthood for at least two weeks as its legal cases continue.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John deGravelles said Planned Parenthood would likely be able to prove that it did not violate any state laws and that the motivation to cut off its funding is unrelated to the group's "competence." The order may be made permanent over time, which would block the state's Department of Health and Hospitals from defunding Planned Parenthood long-term.
"Based on the record before it, it appears likely that the plaintiff (Planned Parenthood) will be able to prove that the attempted terminations against it are motivated and driven, at least in large part, by reasons unrelated to its competence and unique to it," deGravelles wrote. "The uncontradicted evidence in the record at this time is that (Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast) does not perform abortions in Louisiana, is not involved in the sale of fetal tissue, and none of the conduct in question occurred at the PPGC's two Louisiana facilities."
Melissa Flournoy, state director of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, said it was "shameful that Governor Jindal is trying to score political points by blocking women's access to critical health care." She called the ruling "a victory for the more than 5,200 women and men in Louisiana who rely on Planned Parenthood for care through Medicaid."
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Sen. Graham's Abortion Bill: Threat to Women's Lives, Assault on Their Dignity
After similar legislation passed in the U.S. House last month, Republican candidate for president reintroduces bill based on faulty science
Jun 11, 2015
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday led a group of anti-choice lawmakers in introducing a bill to the U.S. Senate that would ban nearly all abortions in the country after 20 weeks, seeking to bring to the Senate the same legislation that passed the House of Representatives last month.
The legislation called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would only give narrow exceptions for those with life-threatening conditions, rape survivors who have received medical care or counseling at least 48 hours prior to receiving an abortion, and minors who have reported rape or incest to law enforcement or child protective services.
As many critics of the bill have pointed out, it is based on the false premise that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks--a political argument that has been debunked by science and medical experts.
At a press conference following the session on Thursday, Graham told reporters that he would "insist" that the bill gets a vote in the Senate, even if it did not have a chance of being signed into law by President Barack Obama.
"I am dying for that debate. I'm going to quite frankly insist that we have that debate," Graham said.
As the Center for Reproductive Rights noted on Thursday, abortion bans at 20 weeks "take critical medical decisions out of the hands of women and their trusted health care providers at a time when those services may be the best medical option for a variety of reasons."
That includes cases in which medical tests reveal fetal anomalies or other complications that could not be detected earlier.
"At a moment when women's access to essential reproductive health care is in greater peril than at any time since Roe v. Wade, Congress should be acting to alleviate the crisis, not worsen it," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement on Thursday. "While anti-choice politicians in Congress work relentlessly to criminalize abortion later in pregnancy, their counterparts in state legislatures are making it increasingly difficult or impossible to get safe, legal care even in the first trimester."
"This has to stop," Northup added. "It's time to advance legislation... that promotes access to the care and services supports women's health, safety, and empowerment, not bills like this one that insult women's dignity and threaten their lives."
Graham's bill has 42 Republican co-sponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
However, if the bill does become law, recent legal rulings indicate that it may be challenged in the courts.
A federal appeals court in Idaho last month struck down a similar 20-week abortion ban, which the judges said violated a Supreme Court precedent protecting abortions up to the point of viability--around 24 weeks. Recent medical studies have shown that fetuses do not feel pain before 24 weeks, and possibly even later.
The bill could prove to be politically risky for the senator. As Politico points out, "Graham's effort threatens to hand political ammunition to Democrats trying to knock off GOP senators in purple and blue states that will decide Senate control after the 2016 election."
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said Graham, who recently launched his 2016 presidential campaign, "is choosing to use his position in the Senate to advance an abortion ban to bolster his long-shot White House bid in a shameless play to early-state ultra-conservative voters."
"We have seen this playbook over and over from anti-choice Republicans up and down the ballot," Hogue added.
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