Well, it looks like our own (your own?) Senator Joni Ernst has been spotlighted by Glen Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill and writer Jordan Smith at The Intercept: “Senator Joni Ernst Puts Planned Parenthood–and Access to Birth Control–on the Chopping Block.”
Looks like she’s set to be the face of the ‘defund Planned Parenthood’ contingent. I may be mistaken but I think she’s going to be facing a firestorm over this and Vander Plaats et.al. won’t be able to save her. Between this and Terry Branstad’s local destabilization of Medicaid, I seriously wonder how her rural constituents are going to take this.
2 Comments
I don't think she will get much backlash
certainly not from her rural constituents (though women in rural areas will suffer from losing access to Planned Parenthood’s family planning services).
Defunding Planned Parenthood on a federal level is certain to happen with Republicans in total control of government. It’s not as if this was some Joni Ernst vision–the GOP has wanted to do this for a long time. Of course, they would rather have an attractive woman be the face of this effort, just like Iowa Senate Republicans had Amy Sinclair run their bill.
desmoinesdem Sun 12 Feb 2:08 PM
You're Probably Correct
Maybe I over-estimate the need for, and underestimate the ability of rural women to pay for, any of the services that PP provides. Since young women (rural and urban) have always had Roe as a backdrop to their lives, I wonder how they will respond to this latest, most profound threat.
dbmarin Sun 12 Feb 6:17 PM