From Des Moines to DC, Ernst Has Made Her Name By Pushing Some of the Most Extreme Anti-Women’s Health Care Legislation in the Country
Today, Senator Joni Ernst voted for anti-choice legislation aimed squarely at “shaming women and criminalizing doctors,” part of Republicans’ “plan to make curbing a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy a central theme of their re-election campaigns.” But for Iowa women, Ernst’s efforts to block women’s access to health care are no aberration. She’s spent her career pushing some of the most extreme legislation in the country – putting her dangerously out of step with Iowa women as she faces the toughest campaign of her career.
In the Iowa State Senate, Ernst introduced a constitutional amendment that would criminalize the right to choose and “outlaw common methods of birth control.” Continuing her extreme efforts in the U.S. Senate, Ernst sponsored a sham bill that would have made contraception more expensive for women, and voted to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood – a reliable source of basic and life-saving health care such as well-woman exams and cancer screenings, especially for low-income families and women of color.
“Senator Joni Ernst’s reprehensible crusade against reproductive freedom clearly shows she is dangerously unfit to represent Iowa women in the U.S. Senate,” said Mandy McClure, Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director. “A woman’s right to make our own health care decisions is not a tool to be wielded to win an election. Iowa women will make our voices heard loud and clear this November, and that voice will elect a senator who will protect – not impair – the rights of women.”