FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2017
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Harmful Budget Provision Would Limit Access to Basic Medical Care, Disproportionately Affecting Low-Income Women Across the State
NARAL Pro-Choice America today called on Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) to oppose parts of a recently passed appropriations bill that will obstruct women’s access to abortion. The anti-choice provisions, which the House passed last week as part of an annual funding bill, would end Iowa’s participation in the federal Medicaid program and prohibit abortion providers from receiving family-planning funds. In response to this out-of-touch budget provision, NARAL outlined its concerns in a letter to Gov. Branstad and called on him to stand up for Iowa families and veto these dangerous provisions.
“This section of H.F.653 runs directly counter to the health and well-being of low-income Iowa women who deserve to get their healthcare from the provider of their choice,” wrote Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Nonetheless, legislators in Iowa are determined to cut off access to essential reproductive-healthcare providers. If enacted, women could lose access to vital healthcare services and, for many, these family-planning clinics provide the only basic healthcare that they receive.”
To view NARAL’s full letter to the governor, click here.
These anti-choice provisions come on the heels of a dangerous bill approved last month that would radically restrict access to abortion across the state of Iowa. That legislation, which the governor has yet to act upon, will ban abortion in Iowa after 20 weeks of pregnancy and require healthcare providers to perform a medically unnecessary ultrasound on any woman seeking abortion care. Low-income and rural women will be disproportionately affected by these anti-choice laws, which limit access to basic healthcare.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”
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