IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa is not among the states that have so-called "trigger laws" that could be enacted if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. However, the abortion issue is far from settled in the Hawkeye State.

In recent years, state Republicans have tried to enact tighter abortion restrictions, but those efforts were blocked by legal decisions tied to a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

Despite those outcomes, GOP lawmakers hope a state constitutional amendment will give them more flexibility, if adopted.

Alice Wang, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in many parts of the country, there is a galvanized effort right now to dismantle core protections under Roe.

"The national landscape for abortion access is, frankly, really dire," Wang asserted. "The real-world harms are staggering."

Wang recently took part in a discussion led by the Iowa Center for Human Rights. She noted Texas' new abortion restrictions, and the backlog they've created in other states. Aside from Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court soon will hear a similar case from Mississippi.

In Iowa, the amendment seeks to overturn the state's high-court ruling, but needs to clear hurdles, including going before voters in 2024. Backers, such as Gov. Kim Reynolds, say they are protecting the dignity of human life.

A recent Des Moines Register poll found a majority of Iowans saying abortion should be legal in most cases.

Pete McRoberts, policy director for the ACLU-Iowa, said that does not mean policy efforts will go away. He argued if the proposed amendment is ultimately successful, it would be a game-changer.

"Let's not kid ourselves, if an amendment to the Iowa constitution is enacted that states 'There is no right to an abortion in Iowa,' that's the thing we've been worried about," McRoberts explained.

The constitutional amendment cleared the Legislature during this year's spring session. Republican lawmakers have insisted even if it wins final approval, it does not prevent a woman's right to choose, but McRoberts argued the plan's language makes it clear the right would be taken away.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week on Idaho's near-total abortion ban.

Idaho v. United States is on the docket for Wednesday.

At issue is whether the ban violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which prohibits hospitals from denying patients medical care because of financial or insurance issues.

The Idaho law has restricted access to reproductive care. Rory Cole is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington who is from Idaho and plans to practice in the state.

"A lot of these patients that we've been seeing don't really have a choice anymore, in that sense of it's not about if they want to be pregnant or not," said Cole. "It's about saving their life or their health, and we can't help them in Idaho."

Other states will be watching Idaho's Supreme Court case, and it could have an outsize impact on rural states that ban abortion, leaving patients with few options for care.

Cole said the Idaho law puts doctors in a tough place.

"The wording is so vague in the legislation here, that it makes it just extraordinarily challenging for doctors to kind of know what is legal and what is not legal here now," said Cole, "which is a place that no physician wants to exist in."

Idaho has seen an exodus of medical providers. The state has lost 22% of its practicing obstetricians since its abortion ban took effect, according to a recent report.

"Ultimately," said Cole, "that place of needing to help the people in Idaho and the people here deserving wonderful care was what brought me to basically try and stay in Idaho for residency."




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Vending machines commonly found in workplace break rooms generally contain soft drinks or snacks but one machine in Indianapolis dispenses unconventional items at the turn of a knob.

The Plan B morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and condoms are displayed in a clear glass case inside a colorful blue and orange dispenser. The items provide easy access to protection against an unwanted pregnancy and are free of charge.

Melissa Gruver, organizing director of the feminist organization Indiana Task FORCE, said it operates like a traditional vending machine.

"You just push whenever you want and it falls down, and you reach your hand through the little door and you pull it out, take it with you," Gruver explained.

A 2022 Indiana Department of Health Termination Report indicated 9,600 pregnancies were aborted, with Marion County recording the highest number of unwanted pregnancies. The report also noted the average age of a woman in Indiana who sought an abortion was 27, and 67% of all terminated pregnancies occurred within four to eight weeks of conception.

The state's contentious near-total abortion ban, which was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court last year, has stoked fears lawmakers may begin restricting a woman's choice of birth control.

Indiana Task FORCE and reproductive health groups All-Options and the Midwest Access Coalition want the emergency contraceptive vending machine to serve as a gathering spot for community conversations on reproductive rights and sexual health.

"We've long been organizing our communities to bring about reproductive justice, which we didn't have before and we definitely don't have it now," Gruver pointed out. "But what we know to be true is that there are more of us that want access to reproductive care than those that try to stop it. We're excited to continue to work to meet this need now, and to organize for a better community."

Gruver hopes to have one dispenser in every Indiana region in the future to add to the single machine currently in an eastside Indianapolis grocery store. She added some universities in the state already have vending machines offering similar contraception products but users have to purchase the items.

This story is based on original reporting by Mary Claire Molloy for Mirror Indy.


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