Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Condemns Iowa State Senate for Passing Anti-Choice Constitutional Amendment
Iowa — Yesterday, anti-choice lawmakers in the Iowa State Senate passed an extreme bill that would amend the Iowa state constitution in order to restrict access to abortion and send the issue to voters as early as 2024. The bill now returns to the State House for reconciliation.
Following last night’s vote, NARAL Pro-Choice America National Communications Director Kristin Ford released the following statement:
“Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman, and their cronies in the legislature have shown that there is no low they won’t sink to if it means advancing their agenda of power and control. Republicans in Iowa are hell-bent on denying people the fundamental freedom to determine their own lives, destinies, and futures. This deeply unpopular bill helps no one and will do immeasurable harm to pregnant people and their families. Their misguided priorities are on display for all Iowa voters to see.”
In January, anti-choice lawmakers in the Iowa State House passed an extreme bill that would amend the Iowa state constitution in order to restrict access to abortion. If implemented, the amendment would nullify a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision upholding the fundamental right to abortion in Iowa. The bill must now go back to the State House for reconciliation. Before the amendment can go to the ballot, it must also pass in the 2023-2024 legislative session.
A newly published poll from the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows that most Iowans do not support Republican efforts to amend the Iowa state constitution to restrict access to abortion. The poll also shows that support for these efforts has gone down in the past year.
- 58% of respondents are opposed to these efforts, up from 54% last year
- Only 31% of respondents support these efforts, down from 33% last year
Additional polling of Iowa voters found that a large majority (70%) of voters believe that abortion should be legal and that the government should not prevent a woman from making that decision for herself.
In Iowa, 58% of women live in counties with no abortion clinic. With Roe on the line like never before, the stakes for women, people who are pregnant, and families are higher than ever. Iowa already has severe restrictions on reproductive freedom. These barriers to care disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; those with low incomes; and rural communities.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.