The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia roils the nation. Mr. Garcia made headlines when the Trump administration expelled him from the U.S. to his native country of El Salvador. Compounding the controversy: he was sent to an El Salvadoran prison crowded with gang members.
Senator Elizabeth Warren characterized the issue as a “disappearance” (a term used in 3rd world countries indicating the government stealthily rounds up dissidents who are then never heard from again). Said Senator Warren:
“We do not disappear people in the United States because here’s the thing, if they can disappear Mr. Abrigo Garcia, then they can disappear you.”
Mr. Abrigo Garcia wasn’t a U.S. citizen. He was in the U.S. illegally. In fact, he was, and is, a citizen of El Salvador.
Police records indicate he was a wife beater.
He appears to have gang affiliations with MS-13.
He lied to our immigration courts to game our system.
The controversy centers on whether or not the Trump administration gave Mr. Abrigo Garcia due process when deporting him, which is not the point of this blog.
Puzzlement
Rather, we’re puzzled by the Abortion Party’s fury at the Trump administration for deporting such an obviously bad apple.
Our puzzlement heightens when we consider the treatment the previous administration dished out on a Pennsylvania dad who protected his 12 year old son from the profane slurs of a bully.
We’re referring to Mark Houck, of course. Here’s a quick recap: The pro-abortion Biden Justice department executed a dawn raid on Mr. Houck’s home. Here’s how his wife described the incident:
“A SWAT team of about 25 came to my house with about 15 vehicles and started pounding on our door. They said they were going to break in if he didn’t open it. And then they had about five guns pointed at my husband, myself, and basically at my kids.”
Houck’s crime? While praying at an abortion clinic with his 14 year old son, he had an altercation with an abortion proponent, whom Houck said verbally harassed his son. Houck acknowledges he shoved the man twice to get him away from his son. The man sustained no injuries. Watch the video above for a recap.
The Philadelphia DA declined to take up the case. A follow up private criminal claim was also thrown out. But that wasn’t good enough for the Biden Justice Department who arrested Houck.
The jury found Mr. Houck not guilty of assault charges related to violating the FACE Act, (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act). Presiding Judge Gerald Pappert was surprised the Justice Department had even pursued the case, wondering aloud to the prosecution whether the FACE Act didn’t “seem to be stretched a little thin here.”
Had Houck lost the case, he could’ve received 11 years in prison … for shoving a man who harassed his young son.
We don’t understand why the abortion party considers a God-fearing, pro-life family man to be a bigger threat than a wife-beating gang member, who entered our country illegally.
[Today’s the day to get your tickets to our Spring fundraiser, An Evening of Glory!]
By Tom Quiner
Critics tend to disparage sentiment. They prefer Stephen Sondheim’s cynical take on love over Oscar Hammerstein’s sentimental outlook. Duke Ellington falls into a different category completely, as demonstrated by a haunting melody he knocked out on the fly at a party in 1935.
“In a Sentimental Mood” is a love song that requires no words. In fact, it is a staple for jazz artists who lose themselves in the mysterious recesses of its multi-textured chord changes in smoke-filled clubs at two o’clock in the morning.
The Duke and Coltrane
Think John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins.
But an Ellington melody is just too good to deny a lyric. Lyricist Manny Kurtz rose to the occasion with the words that fit the melody like a glove. This critic appreciates a well-crafted verse, and Mr. Kurtz delivered, as you can see in verse two:
“On the wings off every kiss,
Drifts a melody so strange and sweet,
In this sentimental bliss,
You make my paradise complete.”
Indeed, Ellington’s melody is ‘strange and sweet’ and is best-appreciated late at night.
This song ranks #44 on my list of the “52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.” Contemporary songwriters don’t fuss over the words the way their forebears did. Think Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, or Ira Gershwin.
Today’s biggest star, Taylor Swift, writes catchy songs which target teen age girls and young women. Writing in Buzzfeed, Hope Lasater was effusive in her praise of Ms. Swift’s handiwork:
“Taylor Swift is, without exaggerating, a love genius. Who else has lyrics that range from romantic to heartbreaking to both at the same time?”
Actually, I can think of quite a few. Many are included in this list of the 52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.
Ms. Lasatar considers Swift’s 2019 song, “Peace” (from her Folklore album), her most romantic lyrics of all time. Here’s the refrain:
“But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come.
All these people think love’s for show,
But I would die for you in secret,
The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me.
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?”
The closest thing to a rhyme is ‘me’ and ‘peace,’ and that wouldn’t be close enough for the likes of a Dorothy Fields or Hal David.
Ms. Swift throws in occasional rhymes in the verses, but their use is scattershot. She uses profanity, a great way to get someone out of a ‘sentimental mood.’ Her melody is uninteresting and the beat frantic.
Will great artists be singing “Peace” 89 years from now? I doubt it. Great artists still perform “In a Sentimental Mood” today, 89 years since it was written, and they’ll continue doing so another 89 years from now.
Ella sings “In a Sentimental Mood”
Listen to Ella sing these lovely lyrics:
“In a sentimental mood,
I can see the stars come through my room,
While you loving attitude,
Is like a flame that lights the gloom.”
This critic would vote the ‘love genius’ award to the writing team of Duke Ellington and Manny Kurtz over Ms. Swift. No offense, but her song’s ‘attitude isn’t like a flame that lights the gloom.’ Listen to this stripped down arrangement:
A vocalist and a guitar
Looking ahead, you’re going to love next week’s entry to our list. Every Baby Boomer and their kids will know the song and start singing along. It was written by a Jewish songwriter from Brooklyn who has the honor of making my list not once, but twice!
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
MercyOne Medical Center (formerly Mercy Hospital) is part of Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa. In a recent medical malpractice case, they made an un-Catholic argument that the death of an unborn baby is not the same as the death of a person when determining damages.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports:
“In Iowa, court-ordered awards for noneconomic losses stemming from medical malpractice are capped at $250,000, except in cases that entail the “loss or impairment of mind or body.” Attorneys for the CHI and MercyOne hospital are arguing the cap on damages still applies in cases where the “loss” is that of a fetus or unborn child.”
William Joensen, Bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines issued the following statement in reaction to this story:
I was surprised and dismayed by what I read in a news story about our local Catholic hospital taking a legal position that appears to contradict Catholic Church teaching. I can understand any confusion of readers. Let me be clear: the Catholic Church believes and advocates the foundational truth that life begins at conception and ends at natural death; and that each and every human life – born or unborn – has inherent dignity and, therefore, must be treated with the respect due to a human person.
I have reached out to leadership at MercyOne and have confirmed that the case involves the interpretation of terms such as “patient” in the context of a specific law that is applicable to the case. In no way does the interpretation of that law change or diminish MercyOne’s commitment to Catholic Social Teaching with respect to life and dignity.
We continue to pray for the family involved as they mourn the death of their daughter and for a just outcome for all involved.
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church , #2270)
Resources for learning more about the Church’s teaching on respect for human life:
By Tom Quiner
Carol King is one of the greatest living songwriters. You and I could have a lively debate on which of her many love songs is the best. I vote for “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” for two reasons: 1. Aretha. 2. The word ‘natural.’
- Aretha Franklin recorded the song in 1967, and no one has ever surpassed it, though many have tried. Including Carol King herself!
- The use of the word ‘natural’ was ingenious. The story goes that a record producer, Jerry Wexler, came up with the phrase and encouraged lyricist, Gerry Goffin (King’s husband) to come up with the words for a song built on that theme, which he did. King added the music.
Romance thrives when couples can ‘just be themselves’ (natural) when around each other. They wither and die when one or the other feels a need to try be someone or something they’re not (unnatural).
Billy Joel said it well in his song, “I want you just the way you are” (a song which did not make my list). You make me feel like a natural woman says the same thing in a poetic way that still sounds fresh today. Couple it with Aretha Franklin’s vocals and you have more than a song, you have a life-changing experience. This is a song worthy of the “52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.”
Aretha’s version hit #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. I posted one of her last performances above.
Carol King sings “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman”
Carol King recorded it four years later in a warm, lovely performance that didn’t try to compete with Aretha’s. Smart move. One of her performances is posted above. She demonstrates how a great song is open to many interpretations. Celine Dion and Mary Blige released their own interpretations of this classic.
Celine’s cover song of “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman
Music journalist, Jenn Pelly, writing for Pitchfork, captures the essence of the contrast between Aretha and Carol King’s interpretation of the song:
King’s version does “carry the bespoke power of a woman reckoning with her history in song … Of course King’s ‘Natural Woman’ does not summon the heavens with the same earth-shattering force as the Queen of Soul’s version … But the grasping of King’s ‘you make me’s and the fluttering of her ‘feel’s are charged with the force of a person attempting to turn herself inside out. In the voice of Aretha, ‘Natural Woman’ is glory. In the voice of King, it is, like all of Tapestry, an act of pure conviction.”
Goffin’s lyrics deserve our attention, especially the second verse:
“O, when my soul was in the lost and found,
You came along to claim it.
I didn’t know just what was wrong with me
’Til your kiss helped me name it.”
The song builds to make the case that this woman’s love comes alive because of a man who loves her for exactly who she is. This is ‘natural’ love, not fake, self-serving love.
‘Natural’ means authentic
‘Natural’ is another way to say true, authentic … even Godly love, although the songwriters might not have thought of it in the same way as I do. ‘Natural love’ is creative, the source of rich family life, the life blood of civilization. The always quotable St. John Paul the Great explained it in one succinct sentence:
“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”
A ‘natural’ woman is open to the creative power of love: the kind of love that gifts her with sons and daughters; the kind of love that says ‘yes’ to God; the kind of love that nourishes a culture with the fruit that flows from a marriage between a woman and her man.
A ‘natural’ woman and her husband are open to the creative power of God’s love and plan their families using a science-based system, “Natural Family Planning (NFP), that complements, not competes, with God’s creative power.
A ‘natural’ woman rejects the seduction of abortion, which is not only ‘unnatural’, it is an abomination.
Gerry Goffin and Carol King would bristle at my interpretation. That’s okay. I commend them for writing a love song that, even if inadvertently, plumbs the depths of true love with the simple use of the word ‘natural.’
Wait ’til next week!
As good as this song is, do you know what’s truly amazing? It’s only #45 on my list of the “52 Greatest Love Songs Ever.” Better songs are yet to come, including next week’s gem with a melody that is so intense that it pierces the soul without a need for words. And yet when you hear its lovely, sentimental verse, well, surrender is complete. Thus the power of a love song.
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Click to Get Tickets HERE
Mark your calendar for Friday, May 2nd and experience “An Evening of Glory” at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Waukee, Iowa. Pulse Life Advocates is sponsoring this event to raise money for our College Scholarship Fund for pro-life students.
So why is this evening going to be so glorious?
Why are you going to find yourself floating to your cars afterward beaming with joy?
Why are you going to have more hope for the future simply by attending this event?
Because there’s power in beauty. Beauty is but a reflection of God’s love for us. Music offers potent ways to showcase His glorious presence in our lives, His unquenchable love for us, born or unborn.
As Pulse maintains, love is the antidote for abortion.
An Evening of Glory will immerse you in love. Your heart will melt as you bask in the glow of timeless classical music as performed by St. Augustin Catholic Church’s music director, Dr. Marion Scott and family.
Then Sacred Heart’s music director, Nate Sparks, will shift gears and perform classic hymns in the style of jazz.
A praise music group, First Monday, featuring Musicians from St. Francis Catholic Church and St. Boniface will uplift you with a set of contemporary Christian music.
Holy Trinity’s music director, Tom Quiner, will premier four new hymns he composed inspired by biblical texts that provide comfort for women in crisis pregnancies.
He’ll be joined by the Catholic Youth Choir who will then end the evening with their glorious, innocent voices invoking our Creator.
Wow!
And there’s more!
Following the concert, we’ll move from the church to the ‘pro-life nightclub’ (the social room) for a wine/cheese/dessert reception with music provided by the dynamic Saints & Sinners band.
An Evening of Glory is more than a concert, it’s an event. Even more, it’s a life-changing event, because politics is downstream from the culture.
We MUST change the culture if we want to end abortion.
We MUST change the culture if we want our kids to leave home and maintain their sexual sanity.
We MUST change the culture if want to restore the traditional family unit to its place of pride in our communities.
YOU change the culture by supporting events exactly like this one.
What’s your alternative?
We suppose you could skip our event and go to a movie instead, let’s say a flick like “Snow White.” But even that classic tale has been corrupted by the culture.
As the progressive, feminist star of this box office bomb, Rachel Ziegler, explained, this iteration of the classic Snow White story is not going to be about true love, she’s not going to be saved by the prince, whom she characterizes as a ‘stalker.’
Female empowerment is in. Love is out in today’s culture.
Pulse addresses the culture in many ways, including our ongoing blog series, “Greatest Love Songs Ever.” Few love songs are written anymore, even though they dominated the charts until around 1994, the age at which the Roe v Wade generation came of age. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you know when new posts publish.
But Pulse also addresses the culture with live events like this one.
God IS love. His love lies at the heart of each piece of music you’ll hear at “An Evening of Glory.”
Change the culture. Support pro-life students. Have fun. Get to know more members of our wonderful pro-life community.
There’s no downside! Seats go for $20 per person; children/students are free. Go online right now and order. Don’t wait!
By Tom Quiner
Some of you are thinking I’m nuts for including “I’ve Got You Babe”, by Sonny Bono, in our list of ‘The 52 Greatest Love Songs Ever’. A Sonny & Cher song? How corny! What’s my response? You’re wrong.
We live in a time when fewer young people marry. Most cohabitate first, pushing the average age of marriage to 29 for women and 31 for men. The assumption is that a ‘test drive’ creates stronger relationships and ultimately fewer divorces should the couple eventually marry.
In fact, the exact opposite it is true. Divorce rates are higher when couples live together first. Not only that, children fare better when mom and dad are married. They fare better when parents didn’t live together first. They fare better with never divorced parents because stability matters. Home matters.
Stability
“I Got You Babe” is a love song about stability. Here’s what the lovebirds sing in the bridge:
I got you to understand
I got you to walk with me
I got you to talk with me
I got you to kiss goodnight
I got you to hold me tight
I got you, I won’t let go.”
I know, I know, Sonny and Cher got divorced and Cher, in particular, has lived a flakey life. Forget about them. The song’s not about them. It’s about us. It’s about young love, which is a wonderful thing. Think about what this song says: I’m committed to YOU.
A timely message
This is a message the world needs to hear right now.
I was moved by something I read from a book, “Theology of the Home” which was co-authored by Dr. Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering:
“We are incarnation. We want to unite the tangible to the intangible. We want this life we’re living to be beautiful in a deeper way. There’s a reason people write songs and make movies about going home. It’s a universal longing, which also means it’s a universal access point. It’s a force for evangelization. When I first realized I was going to marry my husband, I started to feel he was my home. The language of the home is universal. A deeper meaning of home is about longing and relationship. We find our home in God, which is a foretaste of what heaven will be like.”
“I Got You Babe” somewhat echoes their sentiments by implying that, “Babe, you are my home.” Simple. Universal.
Composed by a Congressman!
As I teased last week, Sonny Bono is the only songwriter on this list who was a former member of the House of Representatives, elected in 1995 after serving four years as Mayor of Palm Springs, California. He was tragically killed in a skiing accident in 1998 at the age of sixty-two. “I Got You Babe” was a number one hit song on the Billboard charts, and to this day, Bono is the only member of Congress to have done so.
His hit song remains a part of our culture, popping up in movies and television shows from time to time. (How many times did we hear it repeated in the movie, “Groundhog Day”?!)
Groundhog Day
“I Got You Babe” means commitment, marriage, stability, home. It means LESS abortion, because 87% of abortions occur with single women who slept with men who sang a different tune.
Love songs are vitally important because the good ones say something important with an impact that sticks with us. Thank-you, Sonny Bono, for writing such a memorable piece of pop music. Here’s the song performed with a reggae arrangement by the British band, UB40, with guest vocalist Chrissie Hynde:
Next week, we take a look at a love song that takes a totally different look at the subject. Many singers sang it well, but only one of them knows how to bring down the house with it. See you then.
And thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog. Go back and check out previous entries on this blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Pulse Life Advocates joined 150 national pro-life groups in a letter to Congress urging them to cut their most wasteful budgetary item: Planned Parenthood. PP receives about $2 Million per DAY from you, the American taxpayers. You can read details at the Fox News website.
Tragically, this blood money wastes human lives in violation of the consciences of millions of the country’s faithful citizens.
The letter states in part:
“In November, the American people gave a mandate – it is time for change in Washington. Since then, the White House is taking swift action to stop the Biden abortion agenda and cut government waste. A Republican trifecta presents the opportunity to bolster these efforts by cutting funding for Big Abortion, including Planned Parenthood, through budget reconciliation.”
Many pro-lifers don’t realize that they’re not alone in their belief that our unborn brothers and sisters deserve legal protection from the instant of their fertilization. Pulse Life Advocates is but one of the 150 signatories lobbying Congress to act NOW in ending this obscene expenditure of YOUR tax dollars.
Planned Parenthood has been less than forthright over the years in their assertion that they offer “healthcare” services to women in crisis pregnancies. As the letter states:
“Despite their claims to promote “women’s health,” Planned Parenthood consistently opposes basic health and safety standards for their facilities.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America, Live Action, and The Family Leader are but a few of our fellow signatories.
Pro-lifers: you’re not alone. Pulse Life Advocates is part of growing national movement insisting that Congress act now. Defund Planned Parenthood. We’re tired of waiting.
Read all about it at Fox News.
[Join our pro-life team. Donate today. End abortion. Promote life.]
Please contact your member of the Iowa House in support of legislation requiring schools to show students a video on fetal development.
SF 175 has passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 31-13. The bill now is in the House, where a similar bill, HF 391, has already been approved by the House Education Committee.
Pulse Life Advocates supports this bill, which is to make sure students can see and understand the miracle of life and how it develops in the womb. It will show the humanity of the unborn child. This is a secular topic and does not include religious content. The bill does not require the usage of any specific video.
Please put the message in your own words and explain why this issue is important to you.
You can contact find your legislator HERE.
By Tom Quiner
The songwriting team of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio wrote songs that delighted we Baby Boomers for more than four decades. Younger generations became acquainted with this talented songwriting duo with the hit Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. Entry #47 in Pulse Life Advocate’s countdown of ‘The Greatest Love Songs Ever’ series is the ultra romantic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” immortalized by Frankie Valli’s soaring vocal stylings.
If you’re new to this series, Pulse believes that love songs are important to softening the hearts of a hardened culture, one that accepts human abortion as a fundamental right.
What characterizes a good love song?
Love songs like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” are characterized by lovely, catchy melodies and a lyric so right that you can’t imagine it being sung to any other tune.
Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons introduced the song in 1967, one of many hit songs written by bandmate Bob Gaudio and his writing partner, Bob Crewe.
Their collective efforts helped to sell some 100 million records worldwide. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100.
There’s no question that Franki Valli’s soaring falsetto helped to sell records for the Four Seasons. But it really helps to have a great song as a starting point. And the writing partnership of Gaudio and Crewe had the touch, writing gem after gem for the Four Seasons, such as “Sherry”, “Walk Like A Man”, “Bye Bye Baby”, and “Connie O.”
Great lyrics!
This is a song with wonderful, romantic lyrics that actually rhyme (something with which too many contemporary song writers like to dispense). Take a look at verse 1:
You’re just too good to be true,
Can’t take my eyes off of you,
You’d be like Heaven to touch,
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived,
And I thank God I’m alive,
You’re just too good to be true,
Can’t take my eyes off you.
Isn’t it nice to hear the Almighty invoked joyously in a song, rather than profanely, as is the style today? And isn’t it nice hearing love equated with Heaven, instead of being characterized as something base and ugly, as is the style today?
It’s interesting, the title of the song is invoked in the second line of the first verse. It doesn’t use the hook from the refrain, “I love you, baby.”
It doesn’t use the first line of the song, “You’re just too good to be true.” Gaudio and Crewe picked the perfect song title for this beautiful song. It’s so beautiful, so catchy that dozens of artists have covered it over the decades. And it’s still requested at weddings. Here’s how the song is presented in the movie, “Jersey Boys”:
Jersey Boys Scene
Today’s culture blathers bromides such as “love is love.” What they mean is that love is all about the sex act with whomever you want (regardless of gender) without commitment and without self-surrender. Pope John Paul II warned us that this is the exact opposite of love:
“Take away from love the fullness of self-surrender, the completeness of personal commitment, and what remains will be a total denial and negation of it.”
Without commitment and self-surrender, the consequence of sexual union is corrupted by a disregard of the other (the child) in favor of the self.
We need good old-fashioned love songs to soften and expand our hearts. We need a little romance in our lives! “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” does exactly that! Just look at this delightful interpretation of the song by the Stunnig Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra, backed by youth choir and soloists. Awesome! (I think they’re from Slovonia.):
Next week’s entry is the only song on my list written by a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. You’re going to love it!
Thanks for checking in to this week’s installment of the 52 Greatest Love Songs ever. We’re counting down these songs a week at a time to spread a little love. Love is the greatest antidote to abortion, so be sure to encourage your friends to subscribe to our blog.
[If you like this blogpost, be sure to share it. Then donate to help spread pro-life love.]
Laws matter. Iowa’s abortion rate dropped by 32% in 2023 according to data released by Iowa Health and Human Services. Their new report, 2023 Vital Statistics of Iowa, January, 2025 reported that abortions dropped by 1297 abortions from 2022. And this drop occurred before the Heartbeat Bill even went into effect.
Q & A about Iowa’s abortion landscape
What does the Heartbeat Law really do? It bans abortion at the point when a heartbeat is detectable, which is around six to ten weeks of fertilization. The laws passed in 2018, was struck down by the courts only to later have those decisions corrected by the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa legislature re-passed the law in 2023, and it didn’t actually go into effect until July 29th, 2024.
The ACLU-IA characterized the Heartbeat Bill as a “near-total abortion ban.” Is this accurate? Sadly, no. Their overheated rhetoric fails to acknowledge that 40% of abortions take place within the first six weeks of gestation. Another 39% occurs between seven and nine weeks, a point at which the heartbeat may or may not be detectable.
In other words, the vast majority of abortions are NOT affected by the Heartbeat Bill. In addition, the law allows exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute 90% of Iowa abortions occur in the first trimester.
How big of a factor is the abortion pill when it comes to Iowa abortions? Big. Seventy percent of Iowa abortions were drug-induced. But abortions via the abortion pill dropped 35% from the previous year.
Do many Iowa women go to other states to procure abortions? According to the Iowa Abortion Access Fund and the Chicago Abortion Fund, 194 Iowa women sought abortions in other states in 2023. The number tripled in 2024 to 625 Iowans who went out-of-state for abortions.
Do you have any 2024 data showing how the July 29th implementation of the Heartbeat Bill affected abortion rates in Iowa? Yes. The Guttmacher Institute’s “Monthly Abortion Provision Study” said Iowa’s monthly abortion average dropped from 400 a month to 250 a month after the law went into effect.
Laws matter. Although the Iowa abortion landscape is encouraging in light of significant declines in 2023, we still have a long ways to go. Iowa needs a total ban on abortion.