Iowa

What women can do when most abortions are banned in Iowa

Published

5 months ago

July 21, 2024

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What women can do when most abortions are banned in Iowa

With an interest in reproductive rights, I did some research to find out how a young woman (or girl) not intending to have a child might navigate this new legal landscape.

Timothy Olson
| Guest columnist

Dr. Timothy Olson is a psychiatrist practicing in Des Moines and a lifelong Iowa resident.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled June 28 that the state can hijack a woman’s body if it has a reason (“rational basis”). This means that the “fetal heartbeat” law, passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by the governor, can soon take effect.

The law is intended to force a woman (or girl) to bear a child. Pregnancy and childbirth threaten the health of the woman. Among other things, in about 30% of cases, she must have a cesarean section. The law caters to religious groups that consider intrauterine life the spiritual equal of a woman.

The “fetal heartbeat” can be detected by Doppler ultrasound at 6 weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. At this stage, the embryo — not yet a fetus — is about the size and shape of a pea. It is life, but not what most people would call a child.

More: As Iowa’s ‘fetal heartbeat’ abortion ban looms, clinics prepare for an uncertain future

The law is backward and cruel, but it is the law. I am a medical doctor with a specialty of psychiatry, not obstetrics. But with an interest in reproductive rights, I did some research to find out how a young woman (or girl) not intending to have a child might navigate this new legal landscape.

Most obviously, try not to get pregnant. Intrauterine devices and long-term implants are nearly 100% effective, but they are not right for everyone. Other methods often fail due to imperfect use. With condoms, for example, the real-world pregnancy rate approaches 20% per year. Strive to be perfect.

Consider the morning-after pill for contraceptive lapses. Generic levonorgestrel, 1.5 mg, is widely available for about $6. It should be used as early as possible after sex, generally within 72 hours.

Diagnose pregnancy as early as possible. On the first day of your missed period, you are already four weeks pregnant (from the last menstrual period), leaving just two weeks to get an abortion from an Iowa provider. Monitor your periods and test frequently. Pregnancy test strips are available in bulk for about 30 cents apiece.

There are other good reasons for diagnosing pregnancy early:

An early abortion is less traumatic, physically and emotionally.
For the 15% of women who are Rh negative, incompatibility risks rise later in the pregnancy.
An early medication abortion is more likely to be successful.
If an early medication abortion fails, there is time to repeat it.

If you miss the six-week cutoff in Iowa, you can still get an abortion at a clinic in Illinois (24 weeks), Minnesota (24 weeks), Kansas (22 weeks), Wisconsin (22 weeks), or Nebraska (12 weeks). An abortion in a clinic can be expensive, but financial help is often available.

Desperate women might be drawn to online clinics or pharmacies for a medication abortion, from about 10 to 13 weeks. The clinics violate Iowa law and provide only limited medical support. The pharmacies sometimes provide pills that are counterfeit or expired. As an Iowa physician, I can’t recommend these options.

Although the fetal heartbeat law doesn’t impose penalties on women, there are still legal risks. But if you have an illegal abortion and have problems, don’t hesitate to see a medical provider. Simply say that you think you are having a miscarriage, and ask the provider to avoid sensitive topics unless medically necessary.

If, for whatever reason, you wish to keep your abortion private:

Tell a minimum number of people about your pregnancy and plans.
Avoid mentioning your situation in text, email, or social media. Promptly delete any revealing content from all folders, including trash.
Keep your abortion research private. Put your browser in incognito mode and use the DuckDuckGo search engine.

So, Iowa women, you can still control your own body. You can still choose to have a baby or not. You can still live by your own religious beliefs. Just don’t expect help from your state government.

Dr. Timothy Olson is a psychiatrist practicing in Des Moines and a lifelong Iowa resident.

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Iowa

Eastern Iowa’s most popular baby names for 2024

Published

1 hour ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Eastern Iowa’s most popular baby names for 2024

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – UnityPoint Health hospitals across eastern Iowa have released the list of the most popular baby names for 2024.

The hospitals create the list using data from UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s, Finley, and Allen Hospitals in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Waterloo.

Here are the top five most popular baby names:

Top five girl’s names:

Charlotte
Evelyn
Harper
Amelia
Olivia

Top five boy’s names:

Henry
Oliver
Theodore
Jack
Jackson

Here’s a list broken down by hospital and city:

Cedar Rapids:

Girl’s names:

Evelyn
Charlotte
Harper
Amelia
Nova

Boys names:

Oliver
Henry
Silas
Owen
Asher

Dubuque:

Girl’s names:

Lainey
Eden
Amelia
Layla
Nora

Boy’s names:

Cooper
Henry
Beau
Oliver
Brooks

Waterloo:

Girl’s names:

Lainey
Nora
Adeline
Ava
Emerson

Boy’s names:

Ezra
Theodore
Emmett
Henry
Bennett

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Iowa

Iowa 104-57 New Orleans (Dec 15, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

9 hours ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Iowa 104-57 New Orleans (Dec 15, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN

IOWA CITY, Iowa — — Owen Freeman matched his career-best with 22 points and Iowa cruised to a 104-57 win over New Orleans on Sunday.

The Hawkeyes rebounded from their first home-court loss, falling 89-80 to No. 3 Iowa State on Thursday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

Brock Harding opened the game with a 3-pointer, but the Privateers answered with back-to-back layups from MJ Thomas and James White to take their only lead of the game, 4-3. Freeman answered with a layup and Payton Sandfort and Drew Thelwell each hit from deep to put Iowa in front for good and a 10-0 run made it 29-11 midway through the half.

Iowa (8-3) shot 62.7% from the field for the game (42 of 67), including 14 of 29 from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes amassed 28 assists on 42 made baskets. Sandfort hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Josh Dix and Brock Harding each added 13 points, with Harding collecting six assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Pryce Sandfort added 10 points off the bench.

New Orleans, playing its first game in more than a week, was 25 of 67 from the field (37.3%) and was just 4 of 24 from long range. White paced the Privateers (2-7) with 24 points, six rebounds and two assists. Thomas added 14 points.

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Iowa

Iowa women’s wrestling crowns three champions at North Central College Open

Published

17 hours ago

December 15, 2024

Press Room

Iowa women’s wrestling crowns three champions at North Central College Open

Iowa women’s wrestling took a good portion of its squad to the North Central Open on Sunday, securing three individual titles from Nanea Estrella, Macey Kilty and Kylie Welker.

Bringing 13 wrestlers to the top division of the tournament, with Danni Swihart competing in the B-Division, 11 Hawkeyes finished on the podium in the top division. Even without several starters, the Hawkeyes took second behind only North Central’s mostly full squad.

Iowa’s stars who made the trip to Naperville, Illinois shined, as Estrella, Kilty and Welker combined to go 14-0. They outscored their opponents 131-1 combined.

Alivia White was a surprise, racing to take second at 203 pounds. She defeated teammate Katja Osteen by fall on her way to the finals. Even without Jaycee Foeller, the Hawkeyes had White, Osteen and Samantha Calkins all place at the tournament at 203 pounds.

Accounting for only the results from the A-Division, which housed top wrestlers from each team, North Central had 166.5 team points to Iowa’s 136.5.

It’s hard to compare Iowa and North Central, given the Hawkeyes and CArdinals had limited lineups. The Hawkeyes were without Sterling Dias, Brianna and Emilie Gonzalez, Skye Realin, Reese Larramendy, Kennedy Blades and Foeller to name a few. North Central did not have former Hawkeye Bella Mir or 203-pound No. 2 Traeh Haynes for example as well.

Regardless, having two champions and five finalists suggests the Cardinals will be a challenger once again come the postseason to the Hawkeyes.

Here are the individual results for each wrestler for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa women’s wrestling results from North Central Open

Rianne Murphy – 2nd at 103 pounds (3-1)
Val Solorio – 3rd at 110 pounds (5-1)
Cali Leng – 6th at 124 pounds (3-3)
Ava Rose – DNP at 124 pounds (1-2)
Allie Baudhuin – DNP at 131 pounds (1-2)
Emmily Patneaud – 6th at 131 pounds (2-3)
Nanea Estrella – 1st at 138 pounds (4-0)
Cadence Diduch – 3rd at 138 pounds (5-1)
Danni Swihart (B-Division) – 5th at 138 pounds (3-2)
Macey Kilty – 1st at 145 pounds (4-0)
Kylie Welker – 1st at 180 pounds (6-0)
Samantha Calkins – 4th at 207 pounds (4-2)
Alivia White – 2nd at 207 pounds (3-1)
Katja Osteen – 5th at 207 pounds (3-2, 3-1 vs. non-Hawkeyes)

Match-by-match results can be found on trackwrestling.com

This story was updated to add new information.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

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