It is with a heavy heart that I respond today to the recent news of the overturn of constitutional protections to abortion. This decision by the Supreme Court strips millions of Americans of their right to reproductive freedom. My thoughts are focused on all the women who will die from ectopic pregnancies, preeclampsia, and miscarriage complications and all other maladies that require life-saving abortions. For the babies that will be born terminally ill and will live a brief life of pain and tragedy before dying in their parents’ arms.
With this sorrow we feel, we must act. I call upon the national legislature to continue efforts to pass national abortion safeguards. I call upon every state to institute their own protections protecting those with the capacity to get pregnant. Nobody should ever be made to use their bodies in ways they don’t want to. It is high time that our laws recognize and respect this fact. We can grieve the loss of Supreme Court protections, but we must all continue fighting to safeguard our rights, our health and our privacy as we do so. We cannot give up, and we cannot despair.
Your vote matters now more than ever! When elected to the Iowa House, I will make every effort to help protect abortion rights. I recognize it is not my place to give my input on someone else’s pregnancy. I also recognize that while the act of abortion is not pretty, it is sometimes necessary for the greater good of those involved in the decision-making process. I believe that a woman should make a safe choice for their own bodies instead of having decisions made for them. I call upon all others in my state and in my country to defend human rights in light of this devastating news. The fight is not lost, it has just begun.