Are Iowa's politicians pro-life or just pro-forced birth?
Intellectually honest pro-life people are concerned with and take action to protect all lives, innocent or not.
In the post-Roe world, Iowa’s politicians are charging forward with an anti-abortion agenda. It was prominent in Republican campaigns. Gov. Kim Reynolds is attempting to revive 2018 abortion restrictions. If she fails, our Republican-controlled Legislature could pass an abortion ban against their constituents’ wishes.
This brings us to an important question: Now that they can ban abortion, are Iowa’s anti-abortion advocates actually pro-life, as they claim, or are they merely pro-forced birth?
What do we mean by that? Intellectually honest pro-life people are concerned with and take action to protect all lives, innocent or not. Their concern for life does not stop at birth and is not limited to merely being alive. Forced-birth advocates, by contrast, force all pregnancies to be carried to term regardless of circumstances and means.
Forced-birth policies cause death and trauma. Consider Amanda Eid. Eid drew national headlines after Texas law denied her medical care for three days during a miscarriage because the (very wanted but doomed) fetus still had a heartbeat.
Like the Iowa law that Reynolds is trying to revive, Texas’ law bans abortions two weeks post-implantation (in other words, about six weeks pregnant: Weeks of pregnancy are measured from the most recent menstrual period). After that, Texas doctors are permitted to act only if the embryo or fetus is dead or the pregnant person is dying.
In situations like Eid’s, the longer a miscarriage continues, the higher the chances of a life- or health-threatening infection. After three days, Eid went into sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to infection. Working for hours, a team of doctors kept her alive, but the infection probably left her infertile. Her infertility, near-death experience, suffering, and recovery time — not to mention the use of scarce medical resources — happened only because of laws with no regard for the life or welfare of women. Or 10-year-old rape victims. Or medical schools’ ability to teach life-saving techniques. None of this is pro-life.
Pro-life policies would try to minimize suffering. Under abortion bans, more infants will have serious birth defects. Some will suffer intensely, whether briefly or for years, before passing away. Others will live for decades with severe disabilities. Is our state pro-life enough to pay for their care if their parents cannot? Iowa Republicans recently considered a bill that would have made it harder for Iowa’s children to receive state health insurance, so we are not optimistic.
What about abuse? Intimate partner violence is the leading cause of death during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy increases the risk of abuse. Likewise, unintended pregnancy is the earliest identifiable risk factor for child abuse. Increased funding for Child Protective Services and IPV prevention would be pro-life. More than six years after Natalie Finn was starved to death and five years after Sabrina Ray was, CPS has finally announced reforms. This pace does not suggest “pro-life” priorities.
Pro-life policies should abhor poverty. Research shows that being forced to carry a pregnancy to term is a prescription for long-term debt, poverty, and unemployment. And most people who seek abortion care already have at least one child. Will the state step in and ensure that these parents and children have the support they need to live healthy lives?
Our recent history suggests that it will not. Six years of Republican control have atrophied the systems that protect our most vulnerable, and we will soon have to pay for last session’s tax cuts. Iowa left $30 million in federal child care assistance on the table, declined expanded federal unemployment benefits, and may lose another $90 million in federal housing assistance. None of this inspires confidence that Iowa is prepared to care for more children.
Iowa’s Republican politicians have the power to show us if “pro-life” is just a glitzy cover for forced-birth policies. Their history is not promising, so now is the time for the people of Iowa to demand truly pro-life policies.
Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa.
Originally published in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on December 10, 2022.