Iowa Lawmakers Drop Controversial Abortion Provision From Budget
May 10, 2012 — Iowa legislators on Wednesday removed language from a state Department of Health and Human Services appropriations package that would have barred Medicaid coverage of abortion care for rape and incest survivors, the Quad-City Times reports. The state currently covers abortion care for Medicaid beneficiaries in those cases or if a woman's life is in danger (Wiser, Quad-City Times, 5/10).
A joint House-Senate committee decided to pull the language because talks were at a standstill and lawmakers wanted to move forward with the underlying bill, state Rep. David Heaton (R) said. If enacted, the provision could have restricted funding to Planned Parenthood, according to the Des Moines Register.
Republicans plan to reintroduce the measure in January (Noble, Des Moines Register, 5/9).
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Repro Health Watch — an exciting new edition of the Women’s Health Policy Report — compiles and distributes media coverage of proposed and enacted state laws and ballot initiatives affecting women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care, as well as litigation in response to those provisions.
