Iowa Anti-Choice Lawmakers Try Again To Eliminate Medicaid Coverage for Victims of Rape and Incest
The attempts to pass the restriction has failed the legislature, but now the lawmakers are attempting an emergency petition.
During the last legislative session, Iowa lawmakers nearly shut down the legislature over an attempt to eliminate Medicaid coverage for abortion in cases of rape and incest.
The attempt failed, but now some of them are trying to circumvent the legislature anyway.
A group of 41 Iowa Republican representatives has filed a petition requesting emergency rulemaking that would halt all Iowa government-paid abortions in cases of rape and incest.
The petition cites state law in arguing that rules allowing for abortions paid by Medicaid for fetuses that are physically or mentally deformed or those conceived in cases of rape or incest are illegal and should be rescinded.
The state now has until Aug. 10 to respond to the petition, initiated by Rep. Dawn Pettengill of Mount Aburn. The agency could dismiss the petition or move forward with the rulemaking process, which includes going through the state’s Administrative Rules Review Committee, which has 10 Iowa Senate or House members and is equally divided by Democratic and Republican makeup.
In the prior 12 months, there have been only 2 cases of Medicaid covering abortions for rape victims in Iowa.