We have big challenges ahead of us in Iowa

As the Emma Goldman Clinic works to envision and create our future during our 50th anniversary year, we hope to be able to continue to proudly say that we provide safe and compassionate abortion care.

There is one major obstacle in the way of that, though: a looming six-week fetal “heartbeat” abortion ban.

A six-week ban would effectively prohibit any abortions in Iowa.

In August this year, current Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds asked a state court to lift a permanent injunction of a 2018 law banning abortions after a fetal “heartbeat” is detected. Following the rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court overturning precedents on abortion rights, Reynolds’ attorneys argued in their court filing that “no right to an abortion exists under the state or federal constitution.” A court hearing is scheduled for this Friday, October 28th.

We know from recent polling that 60% of Iowans support legal abortion in all or most cases.

So why does Iowa’s legislature continue to pass abortion restriction after abortion restriction with no regard for the will of the people? CONTROL.

In the fight for Iowa, we have two options:

1. Sit on the sidelines and allow even more extreme and restrictive policies to be passed.
2. Do everything we can to make sure that the voices of the majority of Iowans are heard to propel positive change in Iowa - starting at the ballot box on Tuesday, November 8th!

Abortion is on the ballot. Between now and the election, we must do everything we can to ensure that we elect leaders who respect the will of the people and the rights of individuals to control their own personal healthcare decisions.

The choice is clear, friends. Our victory or defeat rests on what we do right now to fight for both Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic’s future. We create the future through our actions in the next few weeks.

As we are fighting for the future of reproductive health care in our state, the Emma Goldman Clinic continues to do the work it does best—providing essential health care to everyone who needs it.

As you join us at the ballot box in the fight for Iowa’s future, we also invite you to join us in our work of providing health care by making a gift to support our work.

We know we have big challenges in front of us. To meet those challenges, we are working towards our goal of raising $5 million dollars to help sustain the clinic over the next five years so we are here for everyone who needs our services.

We hope that we can count on your support.

With gratitude & hope,

Meghan McCray

Donor Services Coordinator

P.S. 66 clinics have stopped providing abortions in the 100 days since Roe fell. If Iowa’s six-week ban goes into effect, the Emma Goldman Clinic—and other clinics in our state—will be added to these already unconscionable statistics, further denying access to healthcare to those who need it.

According to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute, nearly 22 million - or 29% - of women of reproductive age live in a state where abortion is banned or limited to six weeks gestational age, effectively limiting their access to comprehensive healthcare. Let’s make sure that Iowans continue to have access to comprehensive healthcare.