Fred Hubbell
The Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa political action committee has formally endorsed Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor.
“Since the 2016 elections, the Iowa legislature and Governor Reynolds have been on a rampage against out health, against reproductive rights and against our freedoms,” Erin Davison-Rippey, state executive director of the PAC, said during a midday news conference. “Here in Iowa and across the nation, 2016 was a wake-up call for many of us that elections matter and elections have consequences.”
Former Planned Parenthood of the Heartland president Jill June first met Hubbell 33 years ago when he served on the organization’s board of directors in the 1980s.
“Our backs are against the wall here in Iowa,” June said during the event. “We have lost on so many fronts, it’s hard to describe them all. Women’s reproductive rights have been trampled.”
Hubbell has pledged to restore state funding to Planned Parenthood. He said the organization provides “vital services” to Iowans “not just for women but also for men and people in the LGBT community all across our state, from education to STD testing, cancer screenings, family planning services — Planned Parenthood does all those things, often in underserved communities and making it available to people who can’t afford to pay.”
Hubbell told reporters the biggest problem Iowa faces is lack of affordable, accessible health care, including mental health services and drug treatment as well as reproductive health care.
Pat Garrett, a campaign spokesman for Reynolds, said the governor is “100% pro-life and believes we should do everything we can to protect the unborn.”