GOP Gov Field Pushes Total Abortion Ban That Goes Even Further Than Kim Reynolds
DES MOINES – New reporting from Talking Points Memo highlights how the Republicans running for governor want to go even further than Kim Reynolds on ripping away reproductive freedoms and agree on banning abortion from the moment of conception without exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.
Reynolds’ six-week abortion ban is “among the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country,” but “the Republicans running to replace her want to go even further.” The field supports “a so-called ‘personhood’ law that declares life begins at conception and … could also outlaw certain necessary medical procedures and fertility treatments including in-vitro fertilization.”
As Talking Points Memo reports, Randy Feenstra has “repeatedly cosponsored the Life At Conception Act, which aims to define ‘personhood’ as beginning at conception and would confer constitutional rights on embryos immediately after fertilization.”
Kim Reynolds’ right hand man Adam Steen has also pushed “eye-popping” and “questionable” abortion conspiracies on the campaign trail by claiming that Iowa’s water quality issues are caused by “chemical abortions.” Water quality experts have debunked Steen’s conspiracy theories, saying “the effort to frame abortion medication as a threat to the water supply … lacks any concrete scientific basis.” Zach Lahn even bragged about being banned from an IVF clinic while pushing a total ban on abortion and has refused to “respond or offer any explanation.”
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Iowa women and families are already struggling to get care under one of the most extreme abortion bans in the nation, but Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews want to go even further than Kim Reynolds and outlaw abortion outright without exceptions for victims of rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother. These candidates have been clear: Iowans’ fundamental freedoms, including access to IVF and birth control, would be on the chopping block on day one of their administration.”
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