2006 Legislature in Brief
While anti-choice legislative action in states surrounding Iowa made headlines, remarkably little such activity was in evidence in the Iowa legislature this session.
Though several proposals that would have restricted access to reproductive health care including contraceptive access carried over from the 2005 legislative session, none advanced.
The 25-25 split in the Iowa Senate created by the 2004 election can be largely credited with the absence of legislative attacks on choice. The predominantly pro-choice Democratic leadership and the predominantly anti-choice Republican leadership share power equally with each having the ability to prevent issues from coming to the floor for debate. This split also served to prevent pro-active legislation from being considered.
Many of the groups who traditionally launch efforts attacking reproductive choice instead focused their energy and political capital on attacks on the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. They worked successfully to prevent passage of anti-bullying legislation and pressed for a Senate vote to place the marriage amendment before Iowa voters, legislation that passed the House last year. Dissatisfied with the Senate’s lack of action, Iowa Family Policy Center has vowed electoral retribution for any Senators who oppose amending the constitution to say “only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in the State of Iowa.”
The 81st General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature adjourned at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, May 4, 2006, 15 days beyond the scheduled 100 day session.
2005 Session Summary
Bipartisan Senate Stalls Harmful Legislation
The gavel fell on the 2005 Iowa Legislature without passage of any restrictions to reproductive choice. In addition to stopping detrimental bills, family planning funding and Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention grant funding were maintained, despite the budget crunch. A bill was introduced requiring that sexuality education taught in public schools be science based and medically accurate. It remains eligible for consideration next session.The 2005 session marked the first time in five years that it was not necessary for Governor Vilsack to employ his veto pen to block enactment of legislation damaging to the reproductive health rights of Iowans.
The choice landscape for this session improved as a result of the 2004 election, which produced a Senate comprised of 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans. That meant that the first session of the 81st Iowa General Assembly convened with a governor committed to reproductive health access, joined by a Senate where predominantly pro-choice Democratic leadership shared power equally with anti-choice Republican leadership. Both parties weighed in on what was considered in committee and could prevent legislation from advancing to the full Senate for debate. Legislators also heard from a greater number of pro-choice activists who chose to respond to e-mailed alerts as members of the Planned Parenthood Action Network.
Undeterred by the post-election political reality, the far right pressed for a discriminatory marriage amendment to the Iowa Constitution. Legislators also fired numerous volleys at reproductive health access including a proposal to deny state funding to pro-choice agencies for provision of family planning services to low-income Iowans. All of these harmful initiatives remain eligible for action next year. Pressure for enactment will likely increase as right-wing politicians push for votes that can be turned into 2006 election issues.
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Attempts to Chip Away at Choice
Parental Consent for Minors Seeking Abortion Since 1997 Iowa law has required that a provider notify a minor’s parent or grandparent of her intention to obtain an abortion. House File 287 by Representative Steve Lukan requires consent of a parent and removes the option of alternatively involving a grandparent. This is the first of three bills introduced by Rep. Lukan to “strengthen our abortion laws and protect not only innocent children but vulnerable women as well.”
State Gag Rule
House File 376 by Rep. Lukan prohibits pro-choice family planning organizations from receiving state funding for family planning services for low-income women. Dubbed the “Taxpayer’s Protection Act” by supporters, this bill is the domestic version of the gag rule that anti-choice forces have used successfully to attack international family planning programs.
Fetal Anesthesia
House File 380 by Rep. Lukan, called by its supporters the “Unborn Child Pain Awareness and Prevention Act,” continues abortion opponents’ efforts to demonize women who choose abortion and those who provide the service by substituting politics for science. A companion bill, Senate File 186, was introduced by Senator James Seymour.
Judicial Bypass Reporting
In the case of minors seeking abortion, providers are required under House File 787 to report statistical information to the state concerning whether a parent or grandparent was notified or a judicial bypass was granted. After the House Human Resources Committee amended the bill, Planned Parenthood was confident that sufficient safeguards were in place to maintain the confidentiality of judges, court personnel, providers and patients and did not oppose this bill. The bill passed the House 98 – 0 but was not considered by the Senate.
Fetal Personhood
Virtually identical to the so-called “Laci Peterson Bill” passed in 2004 and vetoed by the governor, House File 752 by the Committee on Human Resources establishes fetal personhood under the guise of protecting pregnant women from violence. The bill passed committee, but was not debated by the full House.
Marriage Amendment
House Joint Resolution 1 was brought before the House by Representatives Betty De Boef, Delores Mertz, Dwayne Alons, Carmine Boal, Danny Carroll and Bill Dix. This resolution would write discrimination into the Iowa Constitution by calling for an amendment stating that only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized.
A companion resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 2, was introduced by Senators Jeff Angelo, Jerry Behn, David Johnson, Jim Hahn, Larry McKibben, Nancy Boettger, James Seymour, Bob Brunkhorst and Paul McKinley.
Planned Parenthood supports policies that guarantee the essential right to privacy of all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation and opposes legislation such as HJR 1 and SJR 2, which deny rights and could be used to take away existing rights.
The House passed HJR 1 by a 54 – 44 vote. The Senate did not address the measure this year although they defeated a similar proposal in 2004 by a 25 – 24 vote.
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2004 Session Summary
“Choose Life” license plate bill -- HF 139
House File 139 –- the “Choose Life” license plate bill introduced last session continues to be a priority of the Iowa Right to Life Committee. The bill appropriates fees from the license plates for anti-choice organizations.
Sponsors: Reps. Alons, Lalk, Carroll, Lukan, DeBoef, Roberts, Mertz, Boal, Chambers and Watts
Subcommittee: Alons, Chambers, Hunter, Rayhons and Thomas
Status: Eligible for debate in House Transportation Committee
A companion bill to HF 139, Senate File 95, was introduced last year.
Sponsor: Sen. Johnson
Subcommittee: Drake, McCoy and Putney
Status: Senate Transportation Committee
Judicial permission for abortion -- HF 2036
HF 2036 requires an adult pregnant woman seeking an abortion to file a petition in the district court of the county of her residence requesting approval for that abortion. A guardian ad litem is appointed to represent the fetus.
Sponsors: Reps. Alons, Baudler, Boal, DeBoef, Boddicker, Watts, Chambers, Lukan, Roberts and Hahn.
Status: Referred to House Human Resources Committee
House Study Bill 634, similar to SSB 3009, has been introduced in the House. Titled the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act,” it also addresses fetal rights by defining “unborn child” to include “any stage of development prior to birth.”
Requested by Rep. Boddicker
Subcommittee: Roberts, Lukan, Tymeson and Foege
Status: House Human Resources Committee
Health insurance for fetuses -- HF 2142
Rather than extending health insurance coverage to pregnant women, House File 2142 expands eligibility for HAWK-I to fetuses. HAWK-I, Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa, is Iowa’s Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Sponsors: Reps. Alons, Freeman, DeBoef, Chambers, Boal, Lukan and Mertz
Subcommittee: Reps. Lukan, Berry, Freeman, Greimann and Heaton
Status: House Human Resources Committee
Life begins at conception resolution -- HR 62
House Resolution 62 recognizes that life exists at the point of conception.
Sponsors: Reps. Alons, De Boef, Boddicker, Roberts, Chambers, Lalk, Boal, Lukan, Kramer, Kurtenbach and Mertz
Status: Introduced on final day of 2003 session.
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Parental Consent for Minors Seeking Abortion -- HF 2206
House File 2206 changes Iowa’s parental notification requirement for minors seeking abortion to a parental consent requirement. It also eliminates the option of alternatively involving a grandparent.
Sponsor: Rep. Lukan
Subcommittee: Lukan, Boddicker and Smith
Status: House Human Resources Committee
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2003 Session Summary
Mandatory Reporting of Sexual Abuse Expansion
House File 206 – Formerly HF 133 by Boddicker, Alons, Carroll, Eichhorn, Manternach, Paulsen, Kramer, J.K. VanFossen, J.R. VanFossen, Tymeson, and Klemme.
An Act increasing the age for mandatory reporting of suspected sexual abuse of a child by a non-caretaker from under 12 to under 16. An amendment to make clergy mandatory reporters was attached to the bill during House debate.
Iowa code defines sexual abuse to include sexual activity. By raising the age from under 12 to under 16 and removing mandatory reporter’s discretion, the actions of many teens would fall under the reporting requirement.
Planned Parenthood opposes this bill because it would deter teens from talking to parents, teachers, coaches or other trusted adults about their sexual behaviors or concerns for fear of being reported to law enforcement. It would also discourage teens from seeking reproductive health care, resulting in an increase in sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancy and abortion.
Status: The bill as amended with the clergy provision passed the House 76 – 22 on February 26. It passed the Senate 33 -12 on April 22 and was vetoed by the Governor on May 30, 2003.
Anti-Choice Family Planning Funding Prioritization
House File 111 by Alons, Boddicker, Mertz, Roberts, Boal, DeBoef, Lukan, Chambers, Manternach, Kramer, and Hoffman.
An Act that would restrict funding for state-administered reproductive health care providers that offer abortion services, refer patients to abortion providers or who publicly advocate for a woman’s right to choose. The bill would give top funding priority to those organizations/health care providers who do not provide abortions or give referrals, educate or advocate.
Planned Parenthood opposes this bill because it jeopardizes a fragile system of health care for low-income women by basing health care decisions not on quality of care, need for services, or access to services, but on political ideology.
Status: Was not brought up in committee.
“Choose Life” License Plate
House File 139 by Alons, Lalk, Carroll, Lukan, DeBoef, Roberts, Mertz, Boal, Chambers, and Watts.
An Act authorizing the department of transportation to issue a “choose life” license plate and appropriating fees to anti-choice agencies that do not give women medically accurate information or inform them of all of their options for dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. This bill is the same as Senate File 95.
Planned Parenthood opposes this bill because it authorizes government to speak on one side of the abortion debate and it disqualifies potential recipients of state funds because of the constitutionally protected activity engaged in by that recipient.
Status: Was not addressed in committee. Supporters of “Choose Life” license plates are seeking 500 commitments to purchase the plate, the necessary number required for the Iowa Department of Transportation to develop a plate without legislative authorization. Using this administrative alternative, unless a state agency sponsors the plates, funds raised by the plates would revert to the general fund of the state of Iowa, rather than crisis pregnancy centers as proposed in the legislation.
Regulation of office-based surgical sites (abortion providers)
House File 256 by Alons, DeBoef, Manternach, Lukan, Hoffman, Chambers, Boddicker, Mertz, Boal, Watts and Roberts.
An Act to require licensing of any medical office that performs surgical procedures or provides services that “could” result in the emergency transfer of a patient to the hospital.
Planned Parenthood opposes this bill. It is a thinly veiled attempt to regulate abortion providers out of business, drive up the cost of care and decrease access to services. It imposes requirements that go beyond the standard of medical care with no justified medical benefits.
Status: Was not addressed in committee.
