So, Iowa’s MOMS program remains an orphan.
MOMS is an acronym for “More Options for Maternal Support.” It’s Gov. Kim Reynolds’ effort to use state money to fund crisis pregnancy centers. Many are religiously affiliated, anti-abortion organizations masquerading as clinics. Some do pregnancy tests and ultrasounds.
But for the second time in a year, the Department of Health and Human Services came up empty trying to find an entity to manage the program. So now the HHS will manage it while officials wonder whether three times could be a charm.
Our Republican-controlled Legislature doubled spending on MOMS to $1 million. Reynolds asked for $2 million. If other red states are any indication, and with Reynolds they usually are, the largesse will grow.
Florida increased its funding for a similar program from $4.5 million in 2022 to $25 million in 2023. Tennessee increased funding from $3 million to $20 million. Texas is spending $165 million over two years. The lack of accountability on how these dollars are spent is remarkable.
This is what Iowa Republicans cobbled together after deciding in 2017 to dismantle the Iowa Family Planning Network, with 90% of its cost paid for with federal dollars. The main goal was to defund Planned Parenthood, which was forced to close some of its clinics. That made it tougher for Iowans to access birth control and other services in addition to abortions.
And it has gone really well. There were 2,849 abortions in Iowa in 2018, according to the HHS. In 2022 the state recorded 4,062 abortions. In 2022, Iowa saw 877 cases of syphilis, up from 283 cases in 2018, a 209% increase. Infant mortality has increased, as has the number of mothers who die from childbirth.
But our Republican leaders have made banning abortion the top health care issue in Iowa. Forget Iowa’s cancer rates rising. Remember when we were making Iowa the healthiest state? We now rank 20th. Hospitals in rural Iowa are shuttering OBGYN services, among other reductions in care, due to dwindling funding.
Lawmakers did approve a bill making rural hospitals eligible for federal finding that can help them maintain an emergency room. But with a $2 billion budget surplus, is that all you’ve got? Oh, and they capped medical malpractice damages. Nice touch.
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Republicans came back into a special legislative session to approve a six-week abortion ban. They didn’t come back into special session to address these health care issues, nor did they spend any of the surplus on Iowa’s woefully inadequate mental health system. They’ve refused to expand postpartum care for mothers to one year. The attorney general refuses to help rape victims pay for emergency contraceptives or abortion. Life is sacred, but women are expendable.
Apparently, this is what Iowans wanted. A government that ignores critical problems in the interest of pleasing the religious right, giving its wealthy pals tax cuts and using public money to send their kids to private religious schools. They see pregnant women, public schoolteachers and transgender kids as Iowa’s true adversaries.
Wake up, Iowans. These folks shouldn’t be allowed to run a lemonade stand, let alone a state.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
MOMS is an acronym for “More Options for Maternal Support.” It’s Gov. Kim Reynolds’ effort to use state money to fund crisis pregnancy centers. Many are religiously affiliated, anti-abortion organizations masquerading as clinics. Some do pregnancy tests and ultrasounds.
But for the second time in a year, the Department of Health and Human Services came up empty trying to find an entity to manage the program. So now the HHS will manage it while officials wonder whether three times could be a charm.
Our Republican-controlled Legislature doubled spending on MOMS to $1 million. Reynolds asked for $2 million. If other red states are any indication, and with Reynolds they usually are, the largesse will grow.
Florida increased its funding for a similar program from $4.5 million in 2022 to $25 million in 2023. Tennessee increased funding from $3 million to $20 million. Texas is spending $165 million over two years. The lack of accountability on how these dollars are spent is remarkable.
This is what Iowa Republicans cobbled together after deciding in 2017 to dismantle the Iowa Family Planning Network, with 90% of its cost paid for with federal dollars. The main goal was to defund Planned Parenthood, which was forced to close some of its clinics. That made it tougher for Iowans to access birth control and other services in addition to abortions.
And it has gone really well. There were 2,849 abortions in Iowa in 2018, according to the HHS. In 2022 the state recorded 4,062 abortions. In 2022, Iowa saw 877 cases of syphilis, up from 283 cases in 2018, a 209% increase. Infant mortality has increased, as has the number of mothers who die from childbirth.
But our Republican leaders have made banning abortion the top health care issue in Iowa. Forget Iowa’s cancer rates rising. Remember when we were making Iowa the healthiest state? We now rank 20th. Hospitals in rural Iowa are shuttering OBGYN services, among other reductions in care, due to dwindling funding.
Lawmakers did approve a bill making rural hospitals eligible for federal finding that can help them maintain an emergency room. But with a $2 billion budget surplus, is that all you’ve got? Oh, and they capped medical malpractice damages. Nice touch.
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Republicans came back into a special legislative session to approve a six-week abortion ban. They didn’t come back into special session to address these health care issues, nor did they spend any of the surplus on Iowa’s woefully inadequate mental health system. They’ve refused to expand postpartum care for mothers to one year. The attorney general refuses to help rape victims pay for emergency contraceptives or abortion. Life is sacred, but women are expendable.
Apparently, this is what Iowans wanted. A government that ignores critical problems in the interest of pleasing the religious right, giving its wealthy pals tax cuts and using public money to send their kids to private religious schools. They see pregnant women, public schoolteachers and transgender kids as Iowa’s true adversaries.
Wake up, Iowans. These folks shouldn’t be allowed to run a lemonade stand, let alone a state.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Iowa GOP’s top health issue is banning abortion
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reacts after signing a new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy before speaking at …
www.thegazette.com
