Information is important in making decisions. When serving in office, there are many things that need to be weighed before taking a vote. Facts, the thoughts of your constituents, and the complete understanding of why the bill is being presented in the first place. We take many votes throughout session, some are done in a sub-committee or committee setting, maybe you are not 100% sure of the bill at that time, but it keeps the bill alive so more discovery can be made to make an informed vote on the floor later. I like to believe that most of us choose to make decisions in our own lives the same way, but if we do not have all of the information presented to us, it is difficult to make the right choice.
This brings up a bill that I have sponsored, that brought a lot of attention at the Capitol during a sub-committee this week.
INFORMED CONSENT ON MEDICATED ABORTIONS & ABORTION REVERSAL This bill received more opposition frankly than I expected for ensuring that women have access to all information before making a decision. If you are undergoing a procedure or taking a drug, we should reasonably expect that all information would be provided to us to make an informed decision. This bill particularly deals with the chemical abortion procedure (commonly referred to as RU486) it’s risks and that there are options available for reversing your decision to have an abortion should you choose. The usual suspects (PP and ACLU) disagree that a woman should be provided this information to make an informed decision or should she change her mind. This is absolutely incomprehensible to me as it should be to you. How can providing women with ALL of the information when faced with this decision be a bad thing? It is appalling that anyone would vote against this bill and I ask you to watch its progress and take note of those who want to keep Doctors from sharing this information from women in the state of Iowa.
Other bills of interest that I have sponsored or co-sponsored that are making their way through our committee process include;
FETAL DISPOSITION AND DEATH CERTIFICATES Many of you witnessed the unfortunate discovery of 2, 411 fetal remains kept and transported by an Abortion doctor in his home. Just a few days ago, Indiana did a mass burial for these babies, there will be no way to determine who these remains belong to because of the decomposition. In Iowa, this bill would require the interment or cremation of remains as well as a record of Death for babies miscarried or aborted after 13 weeks of gestation. Now, parents already have this option in many larger hospitals, however not every facility is doing so, and many of these babies get treated like medical waste. Let that sink in for a moment. What happened to the babies in Indiana is despicable and disgusting and no human life deserves that.
CHARITY BEER WINE AND SPIRITS EVENT PERMIT this bill creates an event permit for non-profit organizations who wish to include beer, wine or spirits in the ticket price of their fundraiser as long as the event is held at a licensed establishment. Most people do not know that this is an issue, but the State Alcohol and Beverage Division created a roadblock last year for the Grand River Center and Best Fest. And the process they offered to solve it was irrational and made no sense. Events like this happen across the state all of the time, and it is ridiculous to create barriers for organizations that are doing good in our communities!
PRICE TRANSPARENCY FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS I have also sponsored a bill that creates transparency for Pharmaceutical companies in the pricing and changing of prices in the drugs that they have on the market. This bill will not immediately lower the costs of drugs but we must understand why certain drugs are so high in order to find a solution to lower them.
MOBILE HOME PARKS AND PREDATORY PRACTICE I have heard from several of you in our district communities with concern about the practice of out of state companies buying up Iowa Mobil Home Parks and unnecessarily raising the lot rent on those who own homes in those parks. There is a bill that will address this practice and I appreciate the work that has been done in bi-partisan fashion to address your concerns.
Funnel week is next week and committees have longer block times to ensure that they complete their work. I expect my Human Resources Committee to have a late-night on Tuesday and the State Government Committee I serve on to do the same on Thursday night.
As you can see, our work varies at the Capitol, but these issues and so many more come to us because of your willingness to share your concerns. If you have questions or comments in regards to any of the above-mentioned bills or others that are important to you, please feel free to reach out to me. I appreciate the opportunity to serve you and our district
