Governor Kim Reynolds says the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade is “only the beginning” of a policy agenda.
“For nearly five decades we fought for this moment and none of it was easy,” Reynolds said late Friday, “…but with Dodds…the Lord reminded us…to the one that knocks, it will be opened.”
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said over the past 40 years as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he’s helped shape the Supreme Court’s six-to-three conservative majority.
“Judicial confirmations do matter and elections matter,” Grassley said, “and 2016 made a big, big difference.”
Grassley and Reynolds spoke Friday during an annual event hosted by The Family Leader. Grassley said unelected judges shouldn’t be deciding when life begins.
“I cast my first pro-life vote in 1972, a year before Roe v Wade,” Grassley said. “There was a big attempt to repeal Iowa’s law banning abortions and it failed in the Iowa House of Representatives on a 44 to 44 vote.”
Grassley was elected to the U.S. House in 1974. A Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” released this weekend shows Grassley leading Democratic challenger Mike Franken by eight points, suggesting this is the closest race he’s faced since his first senate race in 1980.
The Family Leader is a Christian evangelical organization that lobbied for the six-week abortion ban Governor Reynolds signed into law four years ago, but has been in limbo in Iowa courts.
“It helped kick off a wave of pro-life legislation across this country that ultimately led to the fall of Roe,” Reynolds said, to cheers and applause, “and when that injunction is lifted the will of the people, the decision to protect life, will be restored in Iowa.”
Reynolds did not outline new state policies on abortion she’d pursue if she’s reelected governor this November, but called on the crowd to support women with unplanned pregnancies.
“Our job is far from done,” Reynolds said. “…Let’s also resolve together to continue to devote that same energy to helping these mothers and their babies as we did in reversing Roe.”
Reynolds also pledged to keep pushing to send state money to parents enrolling their children in private schools. “When it comes to education, one size really doesn’t fit all,” Reynolds said. “Some families may want an education for their children that conforms to their faith and to their moral convictions.”
The keynote speaker at the day-long Family Leadership Summit was Fox news host Tucker Carlon. Carlson, who has said he is not running for president, urged the crowd to critically assess the GOP candidates who will be “begging for your votes” in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.
“It’s easy to let your own side slide when the other side is a literally unacceptable option,” Carlson said.
Carlson said there’s a “pretty much open field” of candidates who intend to competing for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. He suggested Iowa Republicans should ask questions of the candidates on issues that are “the real markers of societal health.”