IDP Statement on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

DES MOINES – On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, IDP Chair Rita Hart released the following statement on Kim Reynolds’ and Iowa Republicans’ extreme abortion ban that’s made Iowa worst in the country for OB-GYNs and made it harder for women to get essential care:

“A decade of one-party rule has left Iowa with one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country, but Kim Reynolds and Iowa Republicans at every level of government want to go even further to attack reproductive freedoms. Instead of celebrating the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the privacy and medical rights it gave to women, Iowans are suffering and finding health care is harder than ever as clinics close and doctors flee. We have important races up and down the ballot in 2026, and every Republican will have to defend their support for extreme policies that have hurt women and families across our state. While politicians in Washington and at home scheme to rip away fundamental freedoms, Democrats will continue to work to restore these rights and prevent the loss of even more clinics and facilities in Iowa.”

The Republicans running for governor all support Reynolds’ extreme abortion ban:

• Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews are all running to carry the torch for Reynolds’ attacks on reproductive freedom and hold positions that threaten access to IVF and contraception, with some going as far as opposing exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother.
  
• Randy Feenstra has touted the support he has received from extremist groups and paved the way for Iowa’s six week abortion ban during his time in the state legislature.

Ashley Hinson is running to undermine fundamental freedoms:

• Hinson voted to ban abortion in Iowa around six weeks.

• Hinson co-sponsored the Life At Conception Act, a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother at every opportunity.

• Hinson voted to pass the so-called “one big beautiful bill,” which forced Planned Parenthood to announce plans to close four of its health care clinics in Iowa.

• Hinson’s Senate campaign has ties to anti-choice leaders who have distributed pamphlets calling women’s liberation is a “scheme of the devil,” shared content defending the murder of abortion providers, and claimed that “women who need an abortion should have been on a sex strike before they got pregnant.”

Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn have worked for years to ban abortion and rip away Iowa women’s access to health care:

• Miller-Meeks cosponsored the Life At Conception Act – a total nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother – and voted to eliminate the right to an abortion entirely in Iowa. She supported multiple bills that would threatenaccess to abortion, IVF, and contraception and even expressed that she “has some concerns about the ethics around IVF.”
  • Miller-Meeks also signed on to the amicus brief urging SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

• Nunn said he believes abortion should be illegal without exceptions and raised his hand in support of banning abortion nationwide without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman. Nunn voted for Iowa’s near-total abortion ban in 2018, which is “nearly identical” to the 2023 heartbeat ban, and he bragged about his “100% pro-life voting record.” 

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