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And in Iowa, we won a signicant victory
when the state Supreme Court struck down
a ban on medication abortion through
telemedicine. Had this ban gone into effect,
many women would have had to take
multiple trips of up to 400 miles to access
safe, legal abortion, as more than one-third
of Iowans live in rural areas.
Because of the advocacy work by Planned
Parenthood Afliates of California, the state
of California passed a law authorizing nurse
practitioners, certied nurse-midwives, and
physician assistants to perform a method
of rst-trimester abortion, increasing the
number of providers and raising abortion
access to a gold standard.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
also led a coalition of Returned Peace
Corps Volunteers and reproductive health
organizations to advocate for the Peace
Corps Equity Act — and we won! For the
rst time in over three decades, Congress
extended equitable abortion coverage to
Peace Corps Volunteers, who previously
had been denied any coverage for
abortion, even in the cases of rape, incest,
and life endangerment. More than half of
all Peace Corps Volunteers are women,
and hundreds of volunteers were raped or
sexually assaulted between 2000 and 2009.
We advocated for Congress to reject a ban
on abortion at 20 weeks because while
women should not have to justify their
personal medical decisions, the reality is
that abortion later in pregnancy is very rare
“ I became pregnant in my mid-twenties,
which was a wake-up call for me. My
partner was abusive, and the pregnancy
made me realize that I needed to
escape this man. I knew I could not
be tethered to him for the next 18
years; that would have devastated me.
I decided to have an abortion, which
I was able to do at my local Planned
Parenthood health center. Since the
government prohibits the use of federal
funds for abortion and I couldn’t afford
it, I borrowed money from a friend.
Leaving my abusive partner was
difficult. The abortion was not. I can’t
even imagine what my life would be
like if I’d carried that pregnancy to
term. I would not have been able to
continue my education, and chances
are high that I would have stayed in my
old lifestyle with my abusive partner,
too much alcohol, and zero self-
respect. I am so grateful that abortion
is safe and legal in this country.”
Amanda H.
32 Years Old, Houston, Texas
and often happens under very complex
circumstances. We lifted up the real-life
stories of women and families to remind
lawmakers and voters that abortion is a
complicated, personal decision that should
be made by a woman in consultation with
her doctor — not her lawmaker.