Planned Parenthood sees ‘huge drop’ under Iowa’s abortion limit

DES MOINES — There has been a “huge drop” in the number of Iowans being served by Planned Parenthood, the women’s reproductive health care provider that offers abortions and other services, in the first three months under the state’s new restrictions on abortion, provider officials said Monday.

During a news conference, officials with Planned Parenthood North Central States said the provider is referring Iowans to its branches in other states with less restrictive abortion laws.

In July, abortion in Iowa became illegal once cardiac activity can be detected, which typically is around the sixth week of pregnancy, usually before the parent is aware of the pregnancy. Previously, abortion in Iowa was legal until the 20th week of pregnancy.

The new restrictions became law in July after the Iowa Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision upheld legislation passed by statehouse Republicans during a special session of the Iowa Legislature in 2023.

“Our ability to provide abortion care in Iowa is severely limited. Not unexpectedly, we have seen a huge drop in the patients we are able to serve in Iowa since this ban went into effect in July,” Holly Thomas, an abortion patient navigator for Planned Parenthood North Central States, said during the news conference.

Planned Parenthood officials said at this time they could not pinpoint the precise number of Iowans who have been referred to providers in other states, but that they are working within their regional network of providers to compile that data.

Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States, said “a lot” of the patients she sees in Minnesota and Nebraska are from Iowa.

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“Now that the near total abortion ban has been in place for three months, we have definitely seen lots of changes. We are extremely limited in the patients that we can see in Iowa,” Kristina Remus, a patient services advocate for Planned Parenthood, said. “Most are forced to seek care in other neighboring states, including Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois.”

Planned Parenthood officials said they have been able to not only help guide Iowans to services in other states but also help provide resources -- like gift cards or help scheduling travel -- when necessary. They added, however, that those resources are finite and not sustainable over the long-term, and that even when provided such assistance, not all individuals can travel to other states for abortion services.

“We know that as much as we expand access to care under Iowa’s near total abortion ban, not everyone will be able to travel out of state for that care,” Traxler said. “Picking up your life and going across state lines for health care, it’s not easy. Traveling to access such essential health care can be intimidating and overwhelming, and for some it’s just not possible. Everyone has a right to health care. Your ZIP code should not dictate the care you can access.”

The Planned Parenthood news conference also featured an Iowa woman who described the fear she felt during her recent pregnancy, which resulted in emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.

Chelsea Cooper said even before she learned of her ectopic pregnancy, she grew concerned about issues that were arising with her pregnancy around the fifth week. She said she knew at that point the clock was ticking before she could legally have an abortion in Iowa if she felt she needed one.

“I was five weeks along and starting to feel a little anxious and hoping that my body would do what it was supposed to do, knowing that in the next week, it would be six weeks, and then our state we’re at a very near total abortion ban, and I didn’t want to have those difficult conversations,” Cooper said. “I worried about being able to even get an abortion if I needed to, which was adding extreme stress to everything else going on with my body and my emotions. Health care providers kept asking me nonstop if I was in pain, and I wasn’t. I was super anxious and scared.”

Once an ultrasound revealed Cooper’s ectopic pregnancy, supporters of the new restrictions say she at that point was covered by the law’s exception for when the mother’s life or major bodily functions are at risk.

Obstetrician-gynecologists have said the exception is not sufficiently detailed and could be difficult to apply practically during a developing emergency health situation.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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