Kamala Harris says Iowa is ‘on the front line’ in national fight for reproductive rights
Iowa #Iowa
Vice President Kamala Harris joined a panel of Democratic officials and progressive leaders in Des Moines Thursday, telling them that “Iowa is on the front line” in the national fight for reproductive rights.
The visit continues a series of meetings the vice president has held across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision in May that overturned Roe v. Wade and Americans’ constitutional right to abortion.
“What we have seen now is sadly what we predicted,” Harris said. “People around our country are concerned, afraid, confused, desperate, in many ways feeling alone.”
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The panel included state Rep. Lindsay James, state Sen. Zach Wahls and Dr. Kaaren Olesen, the OB/GYN clinic section chief at Broadlawns Medical Center. The event was briefly open to the press before reporters were ushered out of the room.
In Iowa, abortion is currently legal in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
But Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to allow a law to take effect that would ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Oral arguments are scheduled for next month.
Top Republicans in the Legislature want to wait for the outcome of that case before they pass any further laws, but some have angled for quicker action.
A group of Republicans filed a bill earlier this year stating life begins at conception and banning all abortions in Iowa. That bill did not survive a legislative deadline known as the “funnel,” and it is not expected to advance further.
Harris referenced Republican leaders in Iowa who have pushed to limit abortion access in the state, including newly elected Attorney General Brenna Bird, who has joined attorneys general around the country in warning CVS and Walgreens that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills by mail in their states.
“At the core of these issues is a foundational issue for our country,” Harris said. “And it is the principle that we are founded on which says that we each are entitled to freedom and liberty in its most basic manifestation. And is this not about freedom and liberty — the ability to make these decisions about one’s own life?”
Harris noted that polling shows Iowans are broadly supportive of abortion access in Iowa.
According to an October 2022 Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, 61% of Iowans say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 33% say all or most cases should be illegal. Six percent are unsure.
She called on Iowa Democrats to build a coalition to push back against efforts restricting abortion access.
“We are seeing in many states where there is an attack on reproductive health care, there is also an attack on LGBTQ freedoms. There is also an attack on voting rights, the freedom to love the person you love, the freedom to access the ballot,” she said. “So let us continue in this fight, that these essential principles also build a coalition around all these people who understand what is at stake.”
After the event, Harris stopped by Wells Fargo Arena to watch the second half of the University of Kansas vs. Howard University NCAA tournament game. Harris is a Howard alumna. The last time Howard competed in the men’s NCAA tournament was 1992.Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kamala Harris says Iowa is ‘on the front line’ in national fight for reproductive rights