Iowa GOP is leading an assault on reproductive rights

Iowa Senate Republicans passed a proposed anti-abortion constitutional amendment that now awaits a vote in the Iowa House. This amendment is one of the most extreme attacks on reproductive health in Iowa history. It aims to take away Iowans' right to make private health care decisions, giving those decisions to politicians instead.

If passed, the Iowa Constitution would no longer protect the right to end a pregnancy under any circumstance, including in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger. It's hard to imagine being in that position, but one in four women have had an abortion, meaning we all know and love someone who made this decision.

By proposing this amendment, Iowan politicians are laying groundwork to fully ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, despite most Iowans supporting safe and legal abortion.

Iowa's constitution has strong privacy protections that ensure our right to personal freedom. This amendment would weaken those protections and allow politicians to pass even more restrictions on reproductive health care. It also has the potential to prevent doctors from using their best medical judgment, which puts everyone's health care at risk.

I urge my fellow Iowans to tell their elected representatives to vote no on this amendment (HJR 2004). Politicians should protect our rights, not restrict them.

Sarah Elgatain

Iowa City