SSN Commentary

An Abortion Ban? Now, of All Times? Iowa Republican Lawmakers Are Showing They Don’t Value Life

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Originally published as "An Abortion Ban? Now, of All Times? Iowa Republican Lawmakers Are Showing They Don't Value Life," Des Moines Register, June 8, 2020

As COVID deaths continue to climb and the economy lies in ruins, as black people are slain in the streets and communities rise up to confront racial injustice, Republican lawmakers in Iowa have decided to invest precious time and resources in revising the Iowa state constitution to ban abortion.

Banning abortion will never end abortion, but it does threaten the lives of those who carry children. Passing laws forcing doctors to lie to patients is unethical; indeed, it demonstrates deep disregard for and hostility toward women’s lives. Attempting to pass restrictive abortion laws during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly affecting communities of color that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus, is equally unethical.  Restrictions like these will hurt all Iowans, but will disproportionately affect low-income Iowans, Iowans of color, young people, immigrants, and obviously, women.