Category: Abortion Is Health Care

"Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion" - Of Interest to Our Forum Members

4/29/2023

Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion
Thursday, May 11th at 6:30 pm

The Village Theatre
2113 E 11th ST
Davenport, IA (map)

Quad Science

Join us for a community-building event to hear from field experts who will provide evidence-based information about abortion and its role in healthcare. “Abortion is Healthcare: A Public Health Discussion,” will take place Thursday, May 11th at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Theatre in Davenport, IA.

This free event will feature a talk by Dr. Lena Hann, an associate professor of public health at Augustana College and abortion researcher. Following the talk, there will be a discussion and Q&A session with a panel of experts including Allie Wampler, a women's health nurse practitioner, abortion nurse, and sexual assault nurse examiner.

We, the organizers of the event, are local nursing students. We were inspired to put together this evening of speakers after representatives from a local crisis pregnancy center came to speak at our school. Their presentation included several points of misinformation about abortion. We wanted to take action to make evidence-based information on this topic available to members of the public, as well as to future members of the healthcare professions

Facebook event link: https://tinyurl.com/abortionishealthcareqc

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at abortionishealthcareqc@gmail.com

We appreciate your consideration and hope to see you on May 11th.

Lara Lee Paxton, M.P.H.

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Lobby Day for Abortion - After Action Report

4/10/2023

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Lobby Day in Des Moines for Abortion Rights -
After Action Report
Tuesday, March 21st

PAG Gender Equity Forum

Two Gender Equity Forum facilitators, Dr. Alta Price (me) and Dr. Carolyn Martin, traveled to Des Moines for the Planned Parenthood Lobby Day on March 21st. A van of folks came from the Iowa Quad Cities as well. There were well over a hundred activists talking with their legislators.

Although none of the anti-abortion restrictions proposed so far this year has a chance of passing, this is only because Republican leadership is waiting on a case before the Iowa Supreme Court that could reinstate a 6 week abortion ban passed in 2018 that was enjoined by the Iowa Supreme Court. Governor Reynolds has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its injunction. So we lobbied our legislators to support “over-the-counter birth control pills” (actually pharmacist-prescribed oral contraceptives) and expanding Medicaid coverage for pregnant people to extend for 12 months after delivery. There were two other legislative proposals we asked them to oppose.

For me the most interesting part was meeting the other activists. I was especially impressed by the medical students from the University of Iowa.

It was also great to meet and talk with my new Iowa State Senator, Scott Webster. He was very friendly and receptive. He was in support of the over-the-counter birth control pills; in fact, he had already voted in favor of that proposal. Carolyn did a great job of explaining that people need insurance coverage for at least 12 months after delivery to deal with any pregnancy complications. He seemed to appreciate the information she gave him.

Here is some WHO 13 television coverage of the event.

Alta Price

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"Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights" workshop - Of Interest to Our Forum Members

4/1/2023

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Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights workshop
Wednesday, April 12th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm

Online

ACLU Iowa
PACG Gender Equity Forum

The ACLU of Iowa is offering a workshop that we think will be of interest to our PACG Gender Equity Forum members. Here is their description of this short, informative workshop:

Are there topics or questions you have struggled with when talking about abortion with others? Have you ever been nervous to broach the subject altogether?

Having personal conversations with the people in our lives is one of the most important things we can do to advocate for reproductive rights in Iowa.

Join us on Wednesday, April 12 at 6 PM for a 1 hr workshop on how to make these conversations helpful & effective.

This workshop will:

provide brief info on reproductive rights in Iowa
equip folks with effective conversation tools & proven messaging
provide a safe space to practice hard conversations.

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"Reproductive Freedom Alert" Zoom - Community Event

3/14/2023

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Iowa Reproductive Freedom Alert
Tuesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm via Zoom

Gender Equity Forum

PACG cannot, and does not, ever endorse a particular candidate for office or ask people to vote for a certain political party. However, there are currently bills in the Iowa legislature that we are very concerned about regarding reproductive freedom.

Get a preview from House Democratic Leader Rep. Jennifer Konfrst of our newest legislation to protect reproductive freedom for Iowans:

When we started session in January we made a promise to listen to Iowans and then focus on the issues important to them.

In the next week, we'll be releasing our plan for reproductive freedom that will give everyone the right to make their own health care decisions, especially when it comes to reproductive care and abortion.

We believe lawmakers have no place interfering in someone else’s decisions about when to start a family. We believe that private health care decisions belong between an individual, their family, and their doctor.

Please stay tuned!

And learn more about the bills circulating by GOP lawmakers that could restrict access to reproductive care.

Register for the discussion on ZOOM at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrdO-rqj8pGdK0U5YiP6aD-GJvhJNX65B7

Watch live on Facebook at: https://fb.me/e/3jwrFDW6B

Marie Gleason

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Lobby Day for Abortion - What You Can Do Now

3/7/2023

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Lobby Day in Des Moines on Abortion Rights
Tuesday, March 21st at 9:00 am

Iowa State Capitol
1007 E Grand AV
Des Moines, IA (map)

Gender Equity Forum

The Gender Equity forum invites you to a Lobby Day in Des Moines on Tuesday, March 21st hosted by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa and the Iowa Abortion Access Fund. Although the abortion bans did not make it through the “funnel” in the legislature this year, anti-trans bills are moving forward and also need to be opposed.

If you are on Facebook, you can sign up here. The event is free but they ask that you get a ticket to register.

If you are not on Facebook, contact me and I'll register for you.

I'm going! Hope you can join me!

Alta Price

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Our abortion reading list - Of Interest to Forum Members

3/3/2023

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Abortion reading list

Gender Equity Forum

Alta Price

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Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights - PACG Event

10/20/2022

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Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights
Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Gender Equity Forum and ALCU - Iowa

The start of the 2023 legislative session is right around the corner and we know reproductive rights will be on the agenda. So we need to be ready to hit the ground running when the new and returning legislators arrive at the Iowa State Capitol in January.

Join the ACLU of Iowa on Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm for a virtual phone bank on reproductive rights! We'll be calling Iowans in key areas of the state to make sure we start the legislative session with a strong and broad network of folks ready to stand for reproductive rights.

Please register here.

After you register, you will receive a Zoom link on Thursday morning.

Alta Price

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Gender Equity Forum Meeting - After Action Report

7/24/2022

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Gender Equity Forum First Meeting - July 19th - After Action Report

Gender Equity Forum

The Gender Equity Forum held its first meeting on Tuesday, July 19th at the Bettendorf Library. Thirty-five people were in attendance. While we normally won't share a forum meeting update as an After Action Report, this was our first one and we were very pleased with the turnout.

Although there were technical issues with hooking up the computer to the Gilbert Room's system, the forum facilitators were able to "wing-it" in fine form. We began with a discussion of what we had planned for the meeting and then broke into two meetings to brainstorm ideas for actions to be taken in both Illinois and in Iowa.

Here's the PowerPoint presentation that we had hoped to share. You will probably see something similar to this in a future meeting.

Alta Price
Carolyn Martin

2022.07.19_gender_equity_forum_meeting.pptx
File Size:	166 kb
File Type:	pptx

Download File

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LTE from Iowa Medical Professionals re: Abortion as health care - PACG Event

7/24/2022

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Letter to the Editor from Iowa medical providers regarding abortion as health care

Gender Equity Forum

July 19, 2022

To The Editor:

(Note: Read the published letter here.)

As physicians and advanced practice providers from across the State of Iowa who care for women, we are compelled to outline our concerns for their healthcare after the recent SCOTUS decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health which overturned prior precedent of autonomy and privacy for women. While abortion and contraception remain legal and available in Iowa for now, we are concerned about future legislation that has the potential to negatively impact the health and autonomy of our patients.

We have conversations daily with women about medical conditions that may adversely affect a pregnancy or vice versa. Complications that can arise in pregnancy are complex, different for every person, and often unpredictable. We are highly trained medical professionals, yet we cannot foresee every pregnancy complication; therefore, policymakers cannot be expected to do so. We are concerned that maternal outcomes will be adversely affected in Iowa if more restrictive abortion legislation is enacted. Maternal outcomes have already suffered in Texas after legislation that significantly limited abortion was signed into law in September 2021. 1 Furthermore, legislation restricting abortion may worsen inequities in maternal health outcomes for people of color and those with limited economic resources. The pregnancy-related maternal mortality rate in Iowa for non-Hispanic Black women is currently six times higher than
the rate for non-Hispanic White women. 2

Some states have passed legislation that defines life as beginning at conception and these laws threaten medical advances such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and medicated intrauterine devices (IUDs). IVF accounts for 2% of all births in the United States. Defining life as beginning with fertilization, even outside a woman's body and restricting a patient’s autonomy over their own embryos will result in reductions of pregnancy rates. Medicated IUDs are used for medical conditions such as endometriosis, irregular menstrual bleeding or to prevent cancer of the uterus. Some states have targeted IUDs under restrictive legislation despite little evidence that their mechanism of action is to prevent implantation of an embryo. We hope our legislators can appreciate that farreaching legislation can have inadvertent consequences that place lives at risk. These reproductive health decisions, including abortion, should be made after an informed individual in consultation with a trusted healthcare provider.

And finally, physician staffing in Iowa may worsen if additional legislation is passed to restrict abortion and healthcare for women. Recruitment and retention will be more difficult and physician training programs could lose accreditation, resulting in closure. Highly restrictive laws will make this state much less attractive to outstanding physicians who desire to practice evidence-based medicine utilizing the best treatments for helping patients in need. The State of Iowa is understaffed for Family Medicine and OBGYN physicians and this deficit is projected to worsen by 2030. 3 - 4 Since 2000, 40 rural Iowa hospitals have closed their maternity units. 5 This has resulted in maternity care deserts in 29 Iowa counties. 6 Women often drive 2 hours or more, one way, for prenatal care. These hardships will worsen with legislation that impairs reproductive and medical autonomy for patients and their physicians. 7

We implore the policymakers for Iowa at the State and Federal level to collaborate with us, the physicians and advanced practice providers who provide healthcare to the women of Iowa. We advocate for public policy that maintains bodily autonomy and privacy for women, does not restrict medical practices designed to improve the health and fertility of women and sometimes saves their lives. Give us a seat at the table, so that we can learn from one another and find the common ground we all desire: Improved health and well-being for women and infants in our state.

Respectfully,

Andrea Greiner, MD and numerous others

1 Nambiar A, Patel S, Santiago-Munoz P, Spong CY, Nelson DB, Maternal morbidity and fetal outcomes among pregnant women at 22 weeks’ gestation or less with complications in two Texas hospitals after legislation onabortion, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.06.060.
2 https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.smfm.org/mortality_records/134-:state_slug.pdf, accessed 7/5/2022
3 https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/data-research/projections-supply-demand-2018-2030.pdf. Accessed 7/5/2022
4 https://www.ama-assn.org/about/masterfile/ama-physician-masterfile. Accessed 7/5/2022.
5 Access to Obstetrical Care in Iowa: A report to the Iowa State Legislature – Calendar year 2019. Division of Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention – Bureau of Family Health, January 2021.
6 https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/datareg=99&top=23&stop=641&lev=1&slev=4&obj=9&sreg=19. Accessed 7/5/2022
7 https://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/turnaway_socioeconomic_outcomes_issue_brief_8-
20-2018.pdf. Accessed 7/5/2022

Carolyn Martin
Alta Price

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Gender Equity Forum Meeting July 19th at 7:00 pm

7/11/2022

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Gender Equity Forum Meeting
Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm

Gender Equity Forum

Bettendorf Public Library, Gilbert Room
2950 Learning Campus Drive
Bettendorf, IA (map)

The Gender Equity Forum’s next meeting will be Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the Gilbert Room at the Bettendorf Public Library. The Gilbert Room is located on the 2nd floor. While future meetings may have a Zoom or hybrid option, this one will be in-person only.

The mission statement for our forum is: This forum works to remove barriers to equal opportunity for women and nonbinary individuals. We educate and engage members in positive action that they can take to help affect change.

This meeting will be a great opportunity to have conversations with other individuals who are passionate about gender equity.

The planned action item for this evening is to organize in-person meetings with Iowa State legislators to discuss abortion access and to reiterate our belief that abortion is an individual’s health right. (Illinois residents will discuss what actions make the most sense for them at this point, given that abortion at the state level will probably not be restricted.) If you don't already know who represents you in the Iowa legislature, click this link to find out: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

The American Medical Association published this statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe, calling the decision “an egregious allowance of government intrusion into medicine.”

Our Tuesday, August 16th meeting will also be held at the Bettendorf Library, although we plan to alternate future events on both the Illinois and Iowa sides of the Quad Cities, and will vary which night of the week the meetings will be held.

If you are unable to attend our meetings but still have interest in learning what you can do on your own to take action regarding gender equity, visit our website (www.pacgqc.org), subscribe to our weekly Progressive Action Update, and/or email us at qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com.

Carolyn Martin
Alta Price

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"Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion" - Of Interest to Our Forum Members

Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion
Thursday, May 11th at 6:30 pm

Lobby Day for Abortion - After Action Report

Lobby Day in Des Moines for Abortion Rights -
After Action Report
Tuesday, March 21st

PAG Gender Equity Forum

"Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights" workshop - Of Interest to Our Forum Members

Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights workshop
Wednesday, April 12th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm

"Reproductive Freedom Alert" Zoom - Community Event

Iowa Reproductive Freedom Alert
Tuesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm via Zoom

Lobby Day for Abortion - What You Can Do Now

Lobby Day in Des Moines on Abortion Rights
Tuesday, March 21st at 9:00 am

Our abortion reading list - Of Interest to Forum Members

Abortion reading list

Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights - PACG Event

Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights
Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Gender Equity Forum Meeting - After Action Report

Gender Equity Forum First Meeting - July 19th - After Action Report

LTE from Iowa Medical Professionals re: Abortion as health care - PACG Event

Letter to the Editor from Iowa medical providers regarding abortion as health care

Gender Equity Forum Meeting July 19th at 7:00 pm

Gender Equity Forum Meeting
Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm

Archives

Categories

Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion​Thursday, May 11th at 6:30 pm

Lobby Day in Des Moines for Abortion Rights - ​After Action ReportTuesday, March 21stPAG Gender Equity Forum

Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights workshopWednesday, April 12th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm

Iowa Reproductive Freedom AlertTuesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm via Zoom

Lobby Day in Des Moines on Abortion RightsTuesday, March 21st at 9:00 am

Abortion reading list

Phone Banking for Reproductive RightsThursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Gender Equity Forum First Meeting - July 19th - After Action Report

Letter to the Editor from Iowa medical providers regarding abortion as health care

Gender Equity Forum MeetingTuesday, July 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm

Archives

Categories

Abortion IS Healthcare - A Public Health Discussion
Thursday, May 11th at 6:30 pm

Lobby Day in Des Moines for Abortion Rights -
After Action Report
Tuesday, March 21st

PAG Gender Equity Forum

Let's Talk About Reproductive Rights workshop
Wednesday, April 12th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm

Iowa Reproductive Freedom Alert
Tuesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm via Zoom

Lobby Day in Des Moines on Abortion Rights
Tuesday, March 21st at 9:00 am

Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights
Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Gender Equity Forum Meeting
Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm