Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs Iowa law restricting mail-order abortion pills
Iowans will need to see a doctor in person for abortion medication starting July 1.
Watch as Gov. Reynolds signs charter school funding bill into law
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a bill signing for HF 2754, a charter school funding bill, on May 12, 2026, at Des Moines Prep.
Iowans will need to see a doctor in person to receive abortion medication under a new law Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed.
The Tuesday, May 19, signing came as Republican-led states across the country aim to restrict access to abortion pills, usage of which has increased since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling temporarily preserved access to mail-order prescriptions after Louisiana challenged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access. But the medication’s future remains uncertain as the legal battle plays out.
The bill, House File 2788, will require Iowans seeking abortion medication, including the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, to have an in-person appointment with a doctor. They will be informed of specific health and safety information about the pill and screened for signs of coercion or abuse.
Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion advocacy groups championed the law, arguing it will crack down on the flow of pills into Iowa from groups and physicians in other states and create opportunities to detect domestic violence.
“We are providing a private clinical sanctuary where an expert can look them in the eye and ask, ‘Are you safe?’ That opportunity for intervention is lost the moment that we move this process to a computer screen, a phone or a mailbox,” Iowa state Rep. Devon Wood, R-New Market, said during debate on the bill May 14.
Maggie DeWitte, director of anti-abortion advocacy group Pulse Life Advocates, said the legislation will restore prior “safeguards.”
“This bill is a step in the right direction to protect Iowa women from this dangerous drug,” DeWitte said in a statement.
Decades of studies have shown that less than 1% of medication abortions result in serious complications such as severe bleeding or infection.
Reproductive rights advocates have criticized the legislation, contending it will limit access to the medication, which they say many Iowans have acquired through means including telehealth since Iowa implemented laws restricting abortion in recent years.
“All this bill does is it takes away power from the people, the people who are knowledgeable about giving care to those people who need it,” state Rep. Megan Srinivas, a physician and Des Moines Democrat, said during floor debate. “This doesn’t touch the problem of black-market abortions. It creates a problem of creating a void in care for so many Iowans.”
Medication abortion has increased since Iowa Republicans passed a law restricting abortions at roughly six weeks after conception. They comprised 63% of all abortions in the country in 2023, compared with 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that supports abortion rights.
Planned Parenthood North Central States President and CEO Ruth Richardson said abortion pills will continue to be available at the organization’s Iowa health centers “within legal guidelines.”
“Medication abortion has been trusted by providers and patients for more than 25 years. It is safe and effective care. Make no mistake: both nationwide and state attacks on abortion care do nothing to protect patients,” Richardson said in a statement. “There’s no medically necessary reason to restrict how Iowans can access this common, trusted, and safe method of abortion care.”
The Iowa legislation also clarifies the definition of “abortion” to specify that miscarriages and treatment of ectopic pregnancies do not qualify as abortions under the law. which will go into effect July 1.
Federal lawsuits could limit law’s scope
Out-of-state providers who dispense abortion pills in Iowa without following the legislation’s requirements will face civil liability. Licensed physicians and pharmacists in Iowa would be immune from that penalty and could only be subject to licensing discipline.
But lawsuits at the federal level could either expand or stymie Republican lawmakers’ efforts to restrict abortion medication, as shield laws remain in place protecting health care workers in other states who prescribe mifepristone to out-of-state patients.
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@usatodayco.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
Three incredible games took place Saturday on the final day of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Soccer Tournament.
The event concluded from the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa, battling severe weather that rolled through the area during the tournament.
Waukee Northwest captured the Class 3A title, North Polk won gold in Class 2A and Hudson was crowned the Class 1A champions.
Here are recaps from the championship games of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Soccer Tournament.
Class 3A Final: Waukee Northwest 2, West Des Moines Valley 1
Two first half goals by Cora Sundet off assists from Natalie Elliott were enough to carry Waukee Northwest to the Class 3A championship over West Des Moines Valley, 2-1.
Sundet found the back of the net in the 29th minute to make it 1-0 off a pass from Elliott, as the two connected just 73 seconds later to make it 2-0. The Tigers would get on the board just over two minutes later when Bryn Kenworthy scored.
Waukee Northwest concluded the season unbeaten, going 13-0-3. Elliott was named the captain of the all-tournament team, as teammates Grace Hummel, Izzy Simonini and Grace Thomason joined her.
From West Des Moines Valley, Sabrina Rogers and Olivia Rotich made the team. Ankeny Centennial’s Josie Ehlinger, Evie Boyle and Kayle Pezzetti, along with Linn-Mar’s Dreya Kern and Bettendorf’s Alivia Snow completed the squad.
Class 2A Final: North Polk 1, North Scott 0
A Madelyn Cory goal in the fifth minute was all that North Polk needed to take home the Class 2A championship, besting North Scott, 1-0.
Cory scored off an assist from Addison Finn, as the Comet defense silenced the Lancers for the rest of the match.
Earning captain status of the all-tournament team was Blythe Knight of North Polk, as Campbell Schulz, Finn and Cory joined her. North Scott’s Reese Barnett, Paige Coon and Camryn Jones also made the team.
Norwalk’s Pearl Brown and Olivia Welch, along with Rylee Renz from Dallas Center-Grimes and Anaka Ott of Waverly-Shell Rock rounded out the all-tournament squad.
Class 1A Final: Hudson 1, Denver 0
Regulation and two overtime sessions were not enough to determine the Class 1A state championship between Hudson and Denver.
But on penalty kicks, it was all Hudson, as they made four to secure the title.
Gia Baldiviezo, Taylor Davis, Charlee Austin and Taylor Junker were all successful, as Denver’s loan made penalty kick came from Bailey Mullihan.
Baldiviezo was the all-tournament team captain, with Taylor Davis and Callie Stickfort joining her. From Denver, Grace Mullihan and Addyson Shepard made the team.
Council Bluffs St. Albert’s Elanor Coughlin and Ellie Larmie, Emma Haan and Shelby Arkulari of Aplington-Parkersburg, Addy Oetker of Des Moines Christian and Stella Sornson of Treynor completed the team.
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DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Eastern Iowa EMS crews received specialized training Saturday on how to treat motorcyclists after a crash.
Course instructor Frank Prowant teaches the course, called Two-Wheel Trauma through nonprofit ABATE of Iowa, because EMS providers typically receive no specific training in motorcycle trauma.
“The motorcyclist is the one taking all the impact of an accident, all the force. There’s no airbags, no steering wheel that’s preventing further injury to them,” Prowant said.
Two-Wheel Trauma has been teaching first responders since 1986.
Prowant said ridership has grown over the years, and so have the crashes.
“We’ve went from just motorcycles to now we’re seeing e-bikes. We’re seeing electric scooters. We’re seeing all kinds of different motorcycles that are out there. And a lot of different injuries,” Prowant said.
Another instructor, Dick “Slider” Gilmore, said Iowa’s large riding community makes the training critical.
He said the Dubuque area draws heavy riding traffic.
“With the Mississippi River and all the cool places. We’re all drawn to this in the summertime. So, this area is maybe more important than most other places in Iowa because it’s where we gravitate to on our bikes,” Gilmore said.
Organizers plan to make the Dubuque training an annual event.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
The basic machinery of democracy, for all its flaws, can still produce good decisions when used in good faith.
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The news has felt best to avoid lately. It ranges from “discouraging” to “somehow real life, not the Onion.” And political news is the worst. Washington seems to be drawing from the movie “Idiocracy.” The Iowa Statehouse is no better. More voting restrictions. Less access to healthcare. Required propaganda at the University of Iowa. Another year of failing our schools and our youth. State finances aptly described as “a time bomb.”
These hot messes are real. They are also not the whole story. They are the sexy topics that stir controversy, satisfy donors, and get views. But underneath all the bold type, a shocking amount of work is happening with bipartisan support and following the “regular [legislative] order” that produces good decisions.
To give you a break from the daily doomscroll, here are some good things that happened this session. They remind us that the system can work outside big money and wedge issues.
Let’s start with slavery, euphemistically referred to as “human trafficking” these days. It’s second only to drug dealing in scale, but it’s rarely in the news. Iowa probably has a few hundred people enslaved at any given time. This year, Iowa passed several different bills addressing trafficking. Commercial drivers and child-protective services will be trained to recognize it. Victims now have a bill of rights and will be treated as victims, not as prostitutes, and Iowa is funding services for them. Prosecuting traffickers will be easier, and conviction will have more serious consequences. These are significant improvements.
There are bright spots on civics and government, too. Despite going backward on voting, the Legislature significantly improved our open records and open meetings laws. These changes include much-needed modernization, such as requiring notices to be online and not just on a physical bulletin board. They also crack down on bad-faith practices that have been used to block requests, such as unreasonable fees or labeling reporters as “vexatious requesters.” This is a win for Iowans.
Iowa also moved to shore up our citizens’ lamentable lack of civics knowledge, recognizing a Civics Seal of Excellence for high school graduates and reasonable requirements for graduates of Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to have a basic understanding of America’s history and government. (Their requirements of the UI were not reasonable, but that is a topic for another time.) If only they had funded their mandates.
There are even rays of sunshine amid the gloom of reproductive rights and healthcare laws; minors can now consent to their own care before, during, and after giving birth, and miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are clearly separated from abortions.
This session had numerous other, solidly positive bills, from modest water quality improvements to making animal torture a felony. The unifying theme among these bills is that they are either boring or address indefensible problems. No one campaigns in favor of nitrate-necessitated water rationing or animal torture. Elected officials want Iowans to know how the government works. Even some anti-choice politicians recognize the need for miscarriage care.
Unfortunately, this practicality breaks down in the face of partisan dogma and wealthy donors. More unfortunately, those partisan issues backed by wealthy donors are often the biggest issues of the day, and Iowa Republicans outdid themselves this year in passing inept and/or vindictive bills to campaign on.
But they aren’t the whole story, and it’s important to focus on the good things, too. They show that the basic machinery of democracy, for all its flaws, can still produce good decisions when used in good faith. It also reminds us that even the people passing the most atrocious, politicized bills aren’t always puppy-kicking cartoon villains. They’re often just people without the moral fiber to resist perverse incentives. And that understanding frames the challenge for us and those we elect in November: how do we change the system so that decency and good work matter more than wealthy donors and partisanship?
Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa City and write at www.ourlibertiesweprize.com. And biannual time changes must be abolished.
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