Des Moines, Iowa — In an effort to educate Iowans about the increasing restrictions to abortion access in Iowa, the ACLU has built a network of volunteers in every legislative district in the state. After just one year of recruiting, the ACLU has signed more than 10,000 Iowans to its Reproductive Freedom Action Team.
The ACLU of Iowa has a long history of filing lawsuits to protect reproductive rights, including one to block Iowa's most recent 6-week abortion ban law. But this is the first time the ACLU of Iowa has engaged in a grassroots education effort like this one, with a focus on building a network of Iowans who are motivated and ready to protect reproductive freedom in our state.
Becca Eastwood, ACLU of Iowa advocacy campaign manager said, "The majority of Iowans—61 percent—support a woman's right to an abortion. Yet we see legislators pass more and more laws designed to eliminate that right. We deserve to be able to make the reproductive healthcare decisions that are best for us. The government has no business invading women’s privacy and interfering with Iowans’ most personal decisions. So we are mobilizing people all over the state to talk to their neighbors, friends, and family about the importance of keeping abortion safe and legal in Iowa."
"Right now, anti-abortion rights politicians are laying the groundwork to completely ban abortion in Iowa. They have been advancing a proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would strip all abortion rights under our state constitution. Make no mistake about it. This amendment is the most serious threat to reproductive freedom in Iowa in recent history because it would change the very foundation of abortion law and individual rights in Iowa," Eastwood said.
Local action teams are engaged in a number of activities to build support for reproductive freedom in every region of our state. These include doorknocking, organizing local events, petition drives, tabling at local festivals and events, phone banking, writing postcards, and asking local businesses and organizations to publicly support reproductive freedom.
Sarah Fleming of Decorah is one of those volunteers. She became involved after experiencing three miscarriages and being concerned about her ability to get potentially life-saving medical care as she and her husband continue to try to start a family.
She is concerned that if Iowa's latest 6-week abortion law, now temporarily blocked by the courts, goes into effect, she might need emergency medical care but that doctors would be limited or delayed in terminating the pregnancy. That could risk her health, her ability to have future children, and maybe even her life.
"We see what is happening in states like Texas. I am incredibly worried about what might happen if I have a miscarriage emergency or an ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening," Fleming said.
Iowans who are interested in becoming part of the volunteer network can go to www.aclu-ia.org/ReproRightsTeam or email outreach@aclu-ia.org for more information.
