Iowa Senate Republicans balk at over-the-counter birth control despite Reynolds’ push

An Iowa Senate subcommittee advanced an omnibus bill Tuesday that includes portions of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ sweeping health care bill -- but not her proposal to allow access to over-the-counter birth control.

The bill, Senate Study Bill 1139, provides:

The bill removes access to over-the-counter birth control that appeared in the House version of the bill, House Study Bill 91. The bill proposed by Gov. Reynolds would allow pharmacists to dispense birth control without a prescription.

Angela Caulk with the Family Planning Council of Iowa shared studies from Washington University Medical School and American Journal of Public Health showing providing additional access to contraception reduces unplanned pregnancies and abortions

Amy Campbell, a lobbyist representing the Iowa Nurses Association, told lawmakers the association is concerned contraceptive coverage is not included in the Senate bill.

“We think that as the governor said the best way to reduce abortions is to reduce the numbers of unintended pregnancies,” Campbell said. “So we feel that additional access to contraceptives would be a positive with our state.”

Campbell, too, said the group is disappointed the bill does not include extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months. The Medicaid program finances about four in 10 births in the United States. Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days postpartum. After that period, individuals may lose coverage in states without Medicaid expansion.

Subcommittee chair Sen. Jeff Edler, R-State Center, said lawmakers continue to look at state Medicaid data “to ensure that we are spending taxpayer dollars correctly, because that is a very large price tag.”

Abortion rights advocates continued to oppose funding to pregnancy resource centers, saying the centers mislead women about their options and misrepresent themselves as legitimate medical providers. They also note centers are not fully license medical facilities and thus are not bound by federal privacy laws under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and are not required to maintain client confidentiality.

The crisis pregnancy centers are usually religiously affiliated organizations that encourage childbirth or adoption and discourage abortion. They typically offer free ultrasounds, counseling, diapers and other baby items, without cost.

Reynolds and bill supporters, including lobbyists for the Christian conservative advocacy organization The Family Leader, say the statewide program provides personalized support to pregnant women and aims to reduce abortions and improve maternal health outcomes and family economic self-sufficiency.

The governor’s proposal would establish fatherhood engagement grants for non-profit organizations that assist men in finding employment, managing child support obligations, transitioning from incarceration, accessing health care, understanding child development and enhancing parenting skills.

Subcommittee member Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said the bill would boost funding to a program that has less than a year under its belt and no publicly released results.

Lawmakers last year directed $500,000 in state funding to nonprofit crisis pregnancy centers that “have a commitment to promoting healthy pregnancies and childbirth instead of abortion as a fundamental part of the program administrator's mission.”

A program manager has been hired, but no money has been distributed to centers. A representative for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said the department is in the process of creating a request for proposals under the program.

The Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee passed SSB 1139 on a 2-1 party-line vote with Trone Garriott opposed, meaning it will now go to the full committee.

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