When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973, I was a junior at university. I reread the decision after retirement in 2009, along with dissenting opinions and some of the briefs. I know exactly one thing about House File 732 passed in a special session of the Iowa Legislature this summer: It restricted abortion in the state, yet did nothing, zero, to resolve controversy over abortion.

In 2022, a Republican-stacked Supreme Court overturned Roe which had enabled women with the right to seek an abortion. Discarding legal precedent, the justices ignored what’s best for the common good.

Along with this decision, male dominance over women is surging. Presently and throughout American history men have sought to dominate women at home, in the boardroom, and notably in legislation. A new generation of women, subservient to mostly male Republican legislators, are taking their marching orders. As Governor Kim Reynolds signed a near total ban on abortion in Iowa, women are faced with a familiar historic uphill struggle.

Along with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe, abortion restrictions have led to a significant uptick in intimate partner violence, according to PBS Newshour.

Moreover, contraception is also coming under attack.  If Republicans seek to take away abortion rights, effective contraception is the only method to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.  If Republicans don’t agree, I suggest a remedial sexual education course. The United Nations Population Forum states that since 1994 modern contraception has more than doubled. 

The takeaway? If half of humanity is not unfairly burdened everyone will benefit.

“Receiving an abortion does not harm the health and well-being of women,” according to The Turnaway Study by Diana Greene Foster. “Being denied an abortion results in worse financial, health and family outcomes.”

Failure to enable women with bodily autonomy and to make their own health decisions is a human rights violation.

A majority of Iowans can begin to take back rights denied us by House File 732 during the 2024 election.