Iowa’s cancer rates are going up. In fact, the annual Cancer in Iowa Report issued by the Iowa Cancer Registry found Iowa has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers and the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country. Preventing cancer should be a top priority for policymakers. Yet, instead of working on legislation to prevent cancer, this week Senate Republicans advanced a bill, Senate File 2412, that strips away legal protections for Iowa farmers who get diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s. The bill is designed to protect huge, foreign chemical companies whose products caused those diseases at Iowans’ expense.
No company should be let off the hook for the hurt they cause Iowans, especially while Iowa farmers risk cancer, medical debt, and losing their family farms.
Not a single Senate Democrat supported the bill. We believe in protecting Iowans’ health, not making it easier for companies to harm Iowans.
Tune in April 11: Reproductive Freedom on the Docket
Be sure to watch the Iowa Supreme Court’s oral arguments on Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds at 1:30 p.m. on April 11. Iowa’s strict six-week abortion ban is on hold while the High Court hears this case. These oral arguments are a key step toward a final ruling. At stake is whether reproductive freedom enjoys any level of constitutional protection at all in Iowa.
Celebrating Love, Not Hate
This week we celebrated 15 years of marriage equality in Iowa. We also learned Gov. Kim Reynolds went behind closed doors to sign into law an unjust, discriminatory bill. The falsely named “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA) legalizes discrimination. Iowans don’t want someone to be able to refuse to rent to someone or serve someone based on religious or moral beliefs. What they want is justice, fairness, economic opportunity and personal freedom. We need more leaders in Iowa who will push for justice and love over fear and hate.
