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Letters to the Editor: My personal need for an abortion

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I had an abortion 28 years ago. If that surgical intervention was needed by me on Monday, July 29, beginning at 8 a.m. it would not have occurred, or if it did occur it might result in the gynecologist having their license sanctioned or even being jailed.

A method of birth control back in the early 1970s was an IUD, intrauterine device. It was placed in my uterus to prevent the sperm from entering the egg and not allowing fertilization. In my situation the egg was trying to lodge in my uterus, but I began bleeding.

When the bleeding began, I knew that I needed to seek medical attention, and my gynecologist at the McFarland Clinic completed an emergency dilation and cutterage or scraping of the inside of my uterus. This was completed as an outpatient under general anesthesia, and though I was a little uncomfortable because of treatment, I did not die from blood loss.

I conferred with a current practicing gynecologist, Dr. Emily Boevers. Dr. Boevers is cofounder of Iowans for Health Liberties. She indicates the understanding of when a physician may intervene with a necessary medical procedure is very murky. The Iowa Board of Medical Examiners has attempted to develop rules from the policy written by the legislators who were not physicians.

The law bans abortions after fetal cardiac electrical impulses are detected, or about six weeks into a pregnancy (it is not a heartbeat, but the law has been named the heartbeat law). A woman may not even be aware that she is pregnant. Women who have been raped or a victim of incest may receive care, if they meet strict deadlines and other rules for reporting.

Physicians must become investigators prior to completing the procedure, determining the date of the assault, the perpetrator, and if had been properly reported to the authorities.

In March 2023, a survey by the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa was conducted by polling firm Selzer & Co.  identified that 61% of Iowa adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, with only 35% of Iowan adults saying it should be illegal in most or all cases.

Iowa has the fewest obstetric and gynecologists per capita of the nation, and it is expected this legislation enactment may result in an even further decline of practitioners. Thirty-three counties in Iowa are without physicians to provide care to women during pregnancy and are identified as maternal healthcare deserts. Some studies show that states that have abortion restrictions have fewer applicants to their residencies and medical schools as a general fear of not being able to provide needed responsible care that could result in jail or loss of license.

Banning of abortions has resulted in a rise of infant mortality. A factor contributing to the rise may be the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which led to anecdotal reports of women forced to carry to term babies that would die upon being born or shortly after birth.

It is important to remember, abortion is not always a method of birth control. Sometimes a woman has an ectopic pregnancy, meaning that embryo is not growing in the uterus, but in the tube leading to the uterus or the Fallopian tube. The tube cannot expand enough to allow for the pregnancy, resulting in a rupture of the tube. This becomes a serious health issue resulting in severe bleeding, potential infection, and may even result in removal of the all the female’s reproductive organs, or a hysterectomy. This means she will never be able to conceive a baby in the future.

This law, after being in place for  50 years,  was overturned by the nation’s Supreme Court. Further the state of Iowa’s Supreme Court’s decision allowed it to be enacted in Iowa. Iowa is now one of the 22 states, and currently the most severe in abortion banning.

It is a loss of rights by a women to make their own healthcare decisions and should be revoked.

Mary Weaver, Rippey

 

Landowners should not be intimidated by Summit’s letter

Last month, Summit Carbon Solutions received a conditional permit from the Iowa Utilities Commission to construct a 680-mile CO2 pipeline across Iowa. The proposed pipeline, named the Midwest Carbon Express, will carry pressurized CO2 from ethanol plants across five Midwestern states to North Dakota where it will be permanently sequestered underground. The investment company will then earn billions of dollars annually in 45Q carbon tax credits.

Summit recently filed additional applications with the IUC to bring 16 ethanol plants from the now-defunct Navigator CO2 pipeline onto the Summit trunkline with lateral routes. This past week, Summit sent a threatening letter to Iowa landowners on the lateral lines to inform them that their property is on the route of a proposed CO2 pipeline. In the third paragraph of the letter, Summit uses the term “eminent domain” six times and the word “condemnation” twice, making it seem like these actions are imminent. They are not.

The use of this frightening language is disingenuous on Summit’s part. It is meant to intimidate landowners and rush them into signing voluntary easements to avoid going to court. Summit Carbon Solutions currently has no authority to use eminent domain for the lateral lines. The company merely started the process by filing 16 new applications with the IUC. No hearings have been held, no new permits have been approved, and no authority has been given to use eminent domain on the lateral lines.

As a matter of fact, Summit’s initial application for the original CO2 pipeline in Iowa has not yet been fully approved. It is conditional until several regulatory requirements have been met, such as road and river crossing permits and the approval to use five-billion gallons of water annually in the Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) process.

More importantly, the IUC ruled that Summit cannot begin construction in Iowa until it has obtained permits in North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as shorter lines in Minnesota and Nebraska. It has neither a permit for the route nor the underground sequestration site in North Dakota. In South Dakota, the Public Utilities Commission denied Summit’s first application, and the company has yet to refile. Even with a new application, the permitting process in the Mount Rushmore State will take a year or longer.

Iowa landowners on Summit’s lateral lines should not feel rushed or forced into signing easements at this point. Summit has several regulatory hoops to jump through just to finalize its original CO2 pipeline permit. It will take even longer to add permits for the 16 lateral lines. Impacted landowners do not need to sign easements, they do not need to negotiate with Summit’s land agents, and they do not need to feel intimidated by Summit’s recent letter.

Bonnie Ewoldt, Milford, Crawford County landowner

 

Feenstra says no

A big part of making democracy work is creating a time and place for competing candidates of an office to hav an opportunity to share views and display their unique qualities. It’s the work of voters to engage in these opportunities, educate themselves, and make informed decisions. It’s the work of candidates to help voters draw those comparisons by attending these events and being accessible.

The League of Women Voters has the mission of helping both voters and candidates by creating a forum, an event where the essential public conversation between candidates can occur.

Recently the LWV Chapters of Sioux City and Ames, with the help of a League organizer in Fort Dodge, arranged to use the facilities at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge for an event by which the candidates for the Fourth Congressional District could compare their views and qualities for the benefit of the voters.

Ryan Melton, the Democrat candidate, is willing to participate. Incumbent Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra has refused to do so, offering no explanation.

The League of Women Voters of Sioux City and Ames ask that you help Congressman Feenstra see the value of these nonpartisan public events for voters.

Carolyn Klaus, President, League of Women Voters Ames & Story County

Dagna Simmons, League of Women Voters Sioux City

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