What’s next after Iowa Supreme Court rules against six-week abortion ban

The Iowa Supreme Court’s split decision means that abortions in Iowa will remain legal up to twenty weeks. If the ruling had gone the other way, abortion would be illegal after six weeks — before many women even know they’re pregnant!

Undaunted, Governor Reynolds said after the ruling, “We are reviewing our options in preparation for continuing the fight.”

Charles and I discuss what those options might be …

I’ll leave you with an important caveat. The extent to which Republicans have gone to undermine the freedom of pregnant women has already landed the GOP a whole lot of political baggage. They’ll certainly keep pushing for even more draconian measures, in Iowa and across the country. Some of those measures may pass, and many people, especially mothers, will be hurt.

But the powerful can only go so far in negating personal freedom before the mass of people rise up and say, “Enough!” We’re already seeing that happen, and the groundswell for a restoration of sanity on abortion policy will only continue to build. Continue Reading →

Gerrymandering alert: It could happen in Iowa!

The Iowa Legislature will vote on a second map on October 28. If Republicans reject it, they’ll draft their own map, and Iowa will have gerrymandered congressional and state legislative districts for the first time in modern history.

Sad to say, given the hyper-partisan nature of today’s politics, I suspect that’s what will happen.

I hope I’m wrong, but Iowa Republicans like Bob Ray and Jim Leach are relics of the past. So is the Chuck Grassley of the 1980s and ‘90s, when Iowa’s senior senator would sometimes vote his conscience and work across the aisle.

The Iowa Legislature was certainly a partisan place when I served from 1993-2006, and it’s gotten worse. Way worse. During my years at the Statehouse, Republican representatives and senators worked with me to pass my proposals on urban sprawl, eminent domain, teen pregnancy, drunk driving, gambling, skateboarding, and bow hunting, to list a few. I can’t imagine that happening today. Continue Reading →