Chet Culver

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver today voiced his displeasure with President George W. Bush’s proposed rule change that would redefine birth control as abortion.

“Redefining certain forms of birth control as abortion is an unreasonable interpretation of basic contraception and family planning,” Culver said. “Over 98 percent of all American women will use contraceptives at some point in their lives. Assuring access to safe, affordable and reliable forms of family planning is sound public policy.”

In a letter sent Aug. 6 to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, Culver called for a block of the proposed Bush Administration rule change.

… Thirty-four states, including Iowa, have enacted laws and policies that would be jeopardized due to the proposed definitional change. These state-based legal protections ensure women’s access to: birth control, including contraceptive equity in insurance, emergency contraception for sexual assault victims in the emergency room, and birth control at the pharmacy.

As Governor of the State of Iowa, I am very concerned with the federal government’s efforts to impose upon our state’s rights. This attempt at overturning legitimately-enacted laws focused on increasing access to basic health care and family planning is wrong. I strongly urge you not to proceed with this rule change and to prevent its formal introduction.

Iowa is among 27 states that have laws or policies that require insurance providers that cover prescriptions to provide coverage of the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and devices.

The proposed regulation change defines abortion as “any of the various procedures — including prescription, dispensing, and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action — that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.” The definition could be interpreted to sweep in birth control, including emergency contraception, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other forms of hormonal contraceptives. This expanded definition is to be applied based on the providers’ beliefs and could allow any provider who wants to deny women birth control pills to claim protection based on a personal belief that such pills fit the regulatory definition of abortion. Up to 34 states, including Iowa, would be subject to changes in existing law.

Culver joins a growing coalition of Iowa elected officials who are opposed to this new rule. Federal office holders Tom Harkin, Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, all Democrats, have all voiced their opposition to the proposed rule change based on the impact it could create for women in Iowa and across the nation.

“Without consulting doctors or relying on sound science, the Bush Administration is deciding to change the definition of birth control for all Americans,” said Jill June, chief executive officer and president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. “It’s ludicrous, and people in Iowa and across the country will not buy it.”

The varied age groups and socioeconomic levels in the reception hall for the 2008 Choice Dinner held at Iowa Memorial Union on the University of Iowa campus wasn’t an unnoticed detail among those attending the event.

“We’re here because we’ve been coming to this event for probably 20 years — maybe more,” said Nancy Lynch of Solon, who is a past volunteer and longtime monetary supporter of the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City. “We think the cause is one that is very important and one that should be supported.”

Looking around the room, Lynch said that “a long time ago” the dinners were primarily attended by young people, of which she was one.

“Tonight is interesting because most of the older people I know who have been here aren’t here [this year],” she said. “It’s mostly young people and I think that’s fabulous.”

The Choice Dinner is an annual event, the proceeds of which benefit Emma Goldman Clinic, the first women-owned and -operated health care center in the Midwest and the first outpatient abortion clinic in Iowa. The clinic was opened in September 1973, eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the right to choose an abortion is constitutionally guaranteed.

Proceeds from the dinner support the deProsse Access Fund for women living on lower incomes. Costs associated with the dinner are financed by local businesses, individuals and like-minded groups such as the Iowa City Human Rights Commission, Law Students for Reproductive Justice, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, League of Women Voters of Johnson County, Iowa City Area National Organization of Women, Medical Students for Choice, and the Women’s Resource and Action Center.

“While the event directly supports Emma Goldman, it wouldn’t be possible without the support and collaboration of others,” said Karen Kubby, the clinic’s executive director. “As we observe the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade tonight, we are also honoring all the local groups who work on the behalf of women.”

Lynch attended the event with her husband, Richard, who said that both their children have also been instrumental in the fight to maintain a woman’s right to choose. Their daughter was one of the students who helped to found Medical Students for Choice and their son spoke out against those who picketed the clinic.

Beryl Shahan, a longtime women’s issues activist in Iowa, drove with friends from Mount Pleasant to attend the dinner for the first time.

“I’ve served on the Planned Parenthood Board in southeast Iowa, and of course choice is something that has always been very important to me,” Shahan, a former city councilwoman, said after the event. She went on to lament how many laws currently under consideration could serve as roadblocks to women seeking an abortion.

“As far as abortion services, Iowa City or Des Moines are really the only options for women living in southeast Iowa,” she said. “So, when people start discussing a 24-hour waiting period or other limitations, it concerns me. That’s the type of thing that would be a great obstacle for most people. If a woman is having trouble coming up with the money for an abortion, she would most likely also have trouble coming up with the added cost of a hotel stay. It is an extra and unnecessary burden.”

Shahan said that she too was happy to see so many young people in attendance.

“I’m certainly glad to see that the movement is alive and well,” she said. “It’s good to see that others are recognizing the very real threats we have with the current Supreme Court. … We’re not alone — in Mount Pleasant sometimes you can think that you are.”

The sentiment of being in a place with others who share similar beliefs was echoed by first-year medical student Morgyn Beckman, a member of Medical Students for Choice.

“It’s amazing. Sometimes you don’t realize how many other people out there think the same thing as you,” she said. “It’s refreshing to be somewhere that everyone believes similarly as you do.”

Both Beckman and Tess Stoffer, who is also a first-year medical student, agreed that when they made their career choice, they wanted to be able to provide women with any services that might be needed. Both women joined Medical Students for Choice, a group they didn’t know existed, after beginning their studies at the University of Iowa.

“I feel really empowered,” Stoffer said before leaving the event. “It was an enjoyable evening, and it felt really good to be surrounded by people who are supportive.”

Attendees Brian and Emily Goedde said they came to this, their first Choice Dinner, because they were invited and also because they had used the clinic’s services, an experience Brian wrote about for the New York Times magazine.

“I used the clinic as a resource — when I started to write about the experience,” Brian Goedde said. “I wanted to know how much we should be concerned about safety issues and that sort of thing if the piece was published… We’ve gotten some responses — a lot positive, a lot negative. I used Emma Goldman, in particular Karen Kubby, as a resource to prepare us for — well, to prepare us in particular for the negative responses.”

In addition to supporting the clinic that supported them, the Goeddes said they were happy to have heard the event’s keynote speaker, Judy Norsigian, who is executive director and a founder of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (which does business under the name Our Bodies, Ourselves).

“I liked when [Norsigian] talked about finding allies in surprising places,” Brian Goedde said. “I think that’s a great message. There are groups that we might be afraid to approach, but, if we do, maybe we’ll find allies for choice there.”

Emily Goedde said she appreciated Norsigian’s remarks because they made her feel like one part of a larger experience.

“I liked having the aspect of learning about history,” she said. “It was learning about the history of the movement and learning how you are part of this longer period of time, and how we all need to keep working to make things change. It’s not just something in the past; it’s a continuous struggle. Things have changed. Issues have changed. But it is always up to us when it comes to women’s health care.”

It’s been nearly six years since Wilkins, a recent college graduate, locked herself in her parents’ bathroom and watched a blue line slowly appear on a pregnancy test she had placed on the vanity. It was a moment that not only changed her life, but changed the way she viewed abortion.

“I say that — that it changed the way I think about abortion because it was a woman at the abortion clinic who gave me courage,” she said. “The woman who was supposed to help me get an abortion was the first person in my life to tell me that I had a choice and that only I could make that choice. She helped me make the decision that was right for me.”

Wilkins paused, looked out the window to check on her daughter and smiled before saying she would start from the beginning.

“I was scared,” she admitted. “My family wasn’t overly religious, but we went to church. As far as I knew, my family thought abortion was the equivalent of murder. Because of that, I was pretty much resigned that I was going to have a baby. There were simply no other options.”

When Wilkins worked up enough courage to tell her mother about the pregnancy, however, it quickly became clear that her mother thought abortion was the best option.

“She sat for several minutes and took it all in,” Wilkins said. “Obviously, she wasn’t happy. Although I was engaged, I wasn’t married. When she began talking, her first words were about my college scholarship. Then she began talking about other things — the big wedding, the time my fiance and I should be spending as a couple. It was just weird. It was like she wasn’t talking to me as much as she was talking to herself.”

It was at the end of that conversation that Wilkins’ mother said the word abortion.

“She said the word and her eyes lit up,” Wilkins said. “It was like she had just found the most amazing answer to a huge problem. I was completely against it and I told her so, but she still picked up the phone book and made a couple of calls.”

Wilkins told her fiance about the conversation with her mother, expecting to find moral support for her decision to continue the pregnancy.

“He bowed his head and I could tell he was thinking about something serious,” she said. “I thought he was maybe thinking of ways to calm himself down because he was so angry with my mom.”

When he looked at her again, her fiance told her he also agreed that she should have an abortion.

“I was shocked and crying,” she said. “He and my mom were the two people I most loved and trusted and both of them were telling me to do something I didn’t want to do. Both of them were telling me that I had no choice, that it was for the best. What could I do?”

Wilkins went with her mother and her fiance to the clinic for the abortion. She said that when the day finally arrived, she had “cried herself out.”

“I was basically a walking zombie,” she said. “I had spent the past few days trying to convince myself that this was the best thing.”

She was called into an office where a counselor began to speak with her about the pregnancy, her medical history and the scheduled procedure.

“I didn’t break down or anything,” Wilkins said. “I didn’t scream out or start crying, but somehow she knew. She began to question me about why I was there and what I wanted. I finally told her the truth — that my family and fiance thought having an abortion was best. She sat down her clipboard and moved her chair over so that we were sitting almost nose-to-nose. ‘Katie, what do you think?’ she asked me. I did begin to cry then. It was the first time anyone had asked me what I thought or what I wanted.”

The two women spoke for several minutes before inviting Wilkins’ mother and fiance to hear the change of plans.

“I told them that I was not going to have an abortion,” she said. “They tried to protest, but the counselor asked them to just listen. I told them everything and then I explained that this was my body, my life and my choice.”

A few months later, Wilkins gave birth to a healthy daughter. She moved out of her parents’ home while pregnant, but remains close with her family. She and her mother have managed to heal their relationship and Wilkins says both her parents adore their granddaughter. Unfortunately, she and her fiance were not as lucky, although he continues to provide financially for the child. Her life, she says, isn’t perfect and isn’t easy, but she’s satisfied and working to improve things. Some people might think, after listening to Wilkins’ experiences, that she’d be against abortion.

“No, not at all,” she said. “That’s why they call it ‘choice’ and I’m more than happy to support any woman whatever her choice may be. Just because it wasn’t the right choice for me, doesn’t mean it isn’t the right choice for someone else. I think that’s what many who support and oppose abortion have forgotten.”

Roe v. Wade, she says, isn’t really about or limited to abortion.

“The decision handed down by the Supreme Court was done as a reaction to abortion, but it really, I think, speaks about medical privacy and medical choice in general,” Wilkins said. “The court said, basically, no person can force another person to have a medical procedure against his or her will. It also said that each of us have a right to care for and make decisions based on our own well-being. Finally, we should all be able to make those decisions as publicly or as privately as we wish.”

Most people, she said, only see what they want to see about her situation.

“There are some who are against abortion that think I’m going to be their best friend after they’ve heard my story,” she said. “There are others who are open to abortion who want to paint my family and fiance as villians after hearing it. They are both wrong. I’m no more a saint than any other woman. I’m just a woman who took advantage of the choices afforded to me — a choice I’m extremely thankful for.”

The case originally contained five complaints against the Weitz Co., an Iowa-based construction business. Three of the five complaints were removed in summary judgment by U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade. But Heaton’s claims of retaliation after refusing to tolerate discrimination based on national origin were heard before a jury.

Heaton, who is of Italian and Hispanic descent, became a journeyman ironworker after completing an apprenticeship program in 1992. Eight years later, Heaton moved from California to Iowa and became a member of Ironworkers Local 89 in Cedar Rapids. In October 2000, Heaton was sent by the union business agent to work at Weitz, where he started as a journeyman ironworker — an entry-level position in the trade. Roughly six months later, Heaton was promoted to foreman. In December 2002, he was promoted to general foreman.

Court documents state that Weitz Vice President Micheal Novy “handpicked Heaton to be a superintendent” and, on Jan. 6, 2003, Heaton became a superintendent ironworker. As one of three such superintendents, Heaton reported directly to Novy, who was based in Cedar Rapids.

Being promoted through the ranks is typically preferable to company and worker because the employer has some assurance of having the most highly skilled laborers supervising their construction jobs and the worker isn’t necessarily subject to frequent layoffs between jobs.

At the point of his promotion, Heaton had no disciplinary problems or derogatory evaluations from Weitz. Things began to change in spring 2003, according to court documents, when a Teamster superintendent directed other union members to go to Heaton and tell him that he was a “f—ing spic.” In addition, the same superintendent stated the only thing worse than having his daughter marry a black person — referred to with an expletive — was if she were to marry a “f—ing spic like Heaton.”

Heaton subsequently complained to Weitz personnel officials about the derogatory and racial comments. Heaton requested the superintendent stop the behavior and requested that his complaint be kept private from Novy, whom Heaton believed was a personal friend of the superintendent. The complaint, however, was handed directly to Novy for investigation.

A week later, Novy informed Heaton that the Teamsters superintendent had been fired. Court documents state that Novy told Heaton he hated to let the superintendent go because he was a long-time employee and Novy knew him personally.

The situation escalated when a different Weitz project manager referred to Heaton as a “spic” during a disagreement over union jurisdiction on a job site. Such disputes are common, according to court findings, and rarely result in disciplinary action. Nonetheless, the other project manager asked Novy to fire Heaton.

Heaton was called into Novy’s office, told to take his final two paychecks and that his employment was terminated. When Heaton questioned the disciplinary action, and asked whether he was being fired because of his earlier complaint against the superintendent, Novy rescinded the termination.

Things deteriorated further with crew members being pulled from jobs that Heaton supervised. In October 2003, Novy gave Heaton an ultimatum: He could either take a demotion to journeyman or be laid off. During that conversation, according to court documents, Novy told Heaton that “things are catching up to you.” Rather than be demoted to an entry-level position with little job security, Heaton took time off and waited for a superintendent or foreman job to become available. Although other superintendents were still working, Heaton was not recalled for a high-ranking position.

The following January, Heaton filed a complaint with the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, claiming retaliation. A year later, in January 2005, two high-ranking ironworker positions opened at Weitz. Neither was offered to Heaton, so he filed a second complaint of retaliation with the same commission. He later contacted an attorney and began a formal civil rights case against Weitz.

The jury verdict handed down by the U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa totaled $137,070.44 and included lost wages of $47,537.44, lost health insurance benefits of $4,800, lost pension benefits of $11,413, and past emotional damages of $73,320. The jury also awarded $25,000 in punitive damages.

Weitz moved for a new trial, but federal Judge Reade concluded “the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the jury’s awards of emotional distress damages and punitive damages.” Weitz appealed.

The case will soon be before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Briefs are due in early winter. Oral arguments should be heard midwinter with a decision expected in early spring 2008. Individuals associated with the case declined comment, pending outcome of the appeal.

“I tend to see both ends of the spectrum as wrong,” said Lori Cavanaugh as she waited tables in a diner off Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa. “I don’t know what’s going on in the neighboring states and, honestly, I don’t care much. I believe most of us are somewhere in the middle and that our laws will continue to reflect that.”

Despite her initial response, Cavanaugh said she was “shocked” to learn that the Missouri Legislature passed a bill that reclassified Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics as “ambulatory surgical centers.” Whether or not the change was done for safety or to circumvent a woman’s legal right to abortion is now the subject of a federal lawsuit.

Darren Eldermann, 24, a student and part-time convenience store clerk, said he was equally “stunned” to learn that thousands of anti-abortion activists had recently flooded Aurora, Ill., to challenge the opening of a Planned Parenthood facility there.

“I have a lot of friends who rely on Planned Parenthood for medical services like birth control and tests,” he said. “What’s worse is that I’m from Illinois and I didn’t know anything about it.”

Missouri Rules on Hold

The changes in Missouri require all clinics that perform five or more abortions a month to be registered under existing guidelines for “ambulatory surgical centers,” which mandate standards ranging from hallway widths to parking lot sizes to facilities for personnel. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri joined with Dr. Allen Palmer, a St. Louis County physician, on Aug. 20 to challenge the new rules in court.

The plaintiffs contend the new restrictions would force closure of clinics in Columbia and Kansas City. Palmer, who performs early-term abortions, states in documents filed with the court that the same restrictions don’t apply to other private physicians who perform minor surgery in their offices.

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/1015/latest-battlefront-in-abortion-war-americas-midwest/feed 0 http://iowaindependent.com/927/iowa-has-first-legal-mr-and-mr http://iowaindependent.com/927/iowa-has-first-legal-mr-and-mr#comments Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:02:34 +0000 Lynda Waddington http://iowaindependent.com/927/iowa-has-first-legal-mr-and-mr Iowa undergraduate students Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan were married in Des Moines this morning during an extremely brief window of opportunity to become Iowa’s first legal same-sex union.

According to a report from the Associated Press, a dozen gay and lesbian couples were at the Polk County Recorder’s Office when it opened this morning. Roughly 20 couples succeeded in applying for marriage licenses before Polk Judge Robert Hanson stayed his ruling from Thursday that Iowa’s 1998 Defense of Marriage Act violated constitutional rights of due process and equal protection. The ruling is expected to be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

A marriage license approval in Iowa typically takes three days. Fritz and McQuillan were able skip the waiting period by paying a fee and presenting a signed waiver. This morning, the Rev. Mark Stringer declared the couple legally married in a ceremony on the minister’s front lawn in Des Moines.

Although some have referred to the judge’s ruling as a “moral victory for equal rights,” not all Iowans agree.

“No judge can overrule God,” Brad Cranston, pastor of the Heritage Baptist Church in Burlington, told The Hawk Eye. “It’s a clash of morality and legality.”

“I was honored with this [award],” said former Iowa television journalist Amy Johnson Boyle while serving as emcee of the event. “I only bring that up because it was one of the most meaningful evenings and honors that I received in my life. To be recognized by women in the community for what you do for women in the community… well, to me, there’s nothing better than that. The three women who are going to be honored here tonight should feel very, very proud.”

The three honored in Linn County as Women of the Year came from diverse fields and backgrounds. Each, however, found a way to advance the plight of women in Iowa.

Kathleen J. Hall

Hall is a retired Cedar Rapids preschool teacher. Retirement, however, has not slowed her down. She continues to volunteer by teaching adults at the Lincoln Learning Center and the Katheryn McAuley Center. She was instrumental in organizing a tutoring program for African refugee children. She also serves as a resource for the community’s home school population. She also volunteers for People’s Church, Women for Peace Iowa, One Thousand Grandmothers and Indian Creek Nature Center.

“As a teacher, you have the children for such a short time — such a little bit of their lives — that to make a real difference you need to go into their homes and work with their families,” Hall said in her acceptance speech. “So, I began a home visit program, taking learning materials and modeling how to use them, and I spent an awful lot of time listening. I met some wonderful young women who were struggling. They wanted above all else to give their children every possible opportunity. I learned there first-hand that, in order to improve children’s lives, you need to support women and to increase their opportunities.”

Hall said that volunteering and working as an advocate for women and various community groups has changed her life.

“I’ve become a lot more political. I’ve been involved with Women for Peace for a long time, which not only empowers women but it works on real women’s issues. Peace seems to me to be the ultimate women’s issue. It is our children who are being trained to kill and sent off to kill or be killed.”

Her remarks ended with a quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing that scares you every day.”

“That’s my challenge to you,” she said. “Do one thing that scares you everyday because the second thing won’t scare you quite as much. I can guarantee you that you will grow and that in almost every situation you will get back so much more than you gave.”

Kristi Thomson

Thomson manages St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health and has been part of the women’s health field for 30 years. She is a co-chair of Oncology on Campus, a fundraiser for Iowa Breast Cancer Action Foundation, and has served as president of that organization’s board. She has provided educational programs for the public and professional organizations, volunteering up to 500 hours a year. Through both her professional and volunteer efforts, she has mentored and educated a population that is 99 percent female.

“I believe that all of my passion and my compassion throughout my career is largely due to my family,” she said. “My mom and dad taught me a tremendous work ethic. Although my dad died about five years ago from cancer, he definitely taught me passion and compassion. You never saw him walk down the street without having a smile or giving someone a hug. That has emanated throughout my career.”

Thomson believes her life is blessed because of her career and the opportunities she has to help others.

“Whatever I can do to promote health and well-being for women and whatever I can do to help promote the education of those around me is what I’ll do throughout the rest of my career,” she said. “I really feel blessed and that’s such a nice thing for anyone to be able to say. There’s not a day that I dread going to work — never has been, never will be.”

She added that if the time did come when she no longer wanted to go to work, she’d “walk the other direction.” At the end of the day, however, she says it is her family and co-workers that keep her focused and happy while she helps others.

“I look forward to serving the entire community for some time,” she said. “Even after I retire, I’ll still serve.”

Ruth E. White

White is also a former educator, having served the Cedar Rapids Community School District for more than 30 years. While there she also served as the academic adviser for minority students and as human relations facilitator for staff. She began two programs — the Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success and the Toward Advance Placement program — both of which continue to serve minority populations in the Cedar Rapids area. Following her retirement, White served as administrator of the Commission on the Status of African Americans and as director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights. She is currently a consultant for the Iowa Accountability Project.

Sarah Harris, a former student of White, wrote in a letter of recommendation for the award: “I was lucky to receive the gift of a role model who reflected my experience. She encouraged but also demanded that I always did my best and she made learning exciting. She was a huge inspiration for me, always believing in me and continuing to do so in my adulthood.”

“Many of the accomplishments that I am credited with are just what one does when one is in the educational realm,” said White, who has a Ph.D. ” I believe that education is one of the noblest callings and also one of the most underrated callings. The influences that I have on students over the past 30 years may or may not have changed their lives, but, as an educator, that’s just what we do. It’s not anything we think is worthy of special recognition.”

White added that if there is one thing within her career that has stood out from that of other educators, it has been her focus on minority students.

“As we know — and as you can tell by looking around this room — the number of people of color in this community is small,” she said. “I believe that has an impact on the ability and willingness of many young people of color to learn. … When I saw young people of color floundering I realized that it might have been because they had no strong, positive role models around them.”

She said that belief was the spark for the creation of both the targeted educational programs.

“There is a theme in my career,” she said. “It has to do with minority advancement and minority achievement and that’s what led me to accept the governor’s invitation to come to Des Moines after I retired. I was called away from Des Moines because I was needed to help care for my grandson. So, I’m back in the community, still doing things that impact women and minority people — just on a more local level.”

Another former recipient of the award, former Cedar Rapids Mayor and Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President Lee Clancey, told those in attendance that women had come a long way, but not quite far enough to completely shatter the glass ceiling.

“Thirty-six years ago, as women we were struggling with glass ceilings and artificial barriers to employment and advancement,” she said. “There was concern with the needs of working women because it was found that a woman’s greatest handicap was a lack of adequate role models for success. In the research I did for this talk, unfortunately, I consistently found things have not dramatically changed in the last 36 years.”

Politics, in particular, is an area, she says, in which women have not made enough advancement.

“As much as women have accomplished in other endeavors,” she said, “[politics] is still one area in which women have, unfortunately, a long way to go. This is a profession that impacts each and every one of us on a daily basis that is full of opportunities and is wide open to women. As you are probably aware, women are surging into almost every profession available in American life. … Politics is one of the last holdouts for women achieving success — along with major corporate board rooms.”

Clancey says much of this can be chalked up to gender stereotyping, but that the lack of women in the public conversation is not good for society.

“I believe that women have the potential to be the kind of leaders who will shift paradigms, encourage and mentor others and celebrate diversity,” she said. “It’s long past time for equal representation with women at the political table, in corporate American board rooms and in leadership positions at all levels. Not only are women wanted to run the nation, they are desperately needed to run it in order to bring important issues to the forefront.”

On Aug. 26, 1920, women’s right to vote was affirmed with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Since 1971, this anniversary has been celebrated by Congressional Resolution as Women’s Equality Day. The Linn County celebration, just as those throughout the nation, recognizes both the historic anniversary and women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.

“Virtually nothing in that ad is true,” said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney when confronted with the text of an automated attack phone call concerning the issue of abortion paid for by Brownback for President, highlighting what appear to be inconsistencies with the politician’s stance. “The single word I’d use would be ‘desperate’ or perhaps ‘negative.’”

Text of Automated Phone Call

“Hello, this is an urgent alert for pro-life Iowa Republican voters. The Straw Poll is coming up in a few weeks and Mitt Romney is telling Iowans he’s firmly pro-life. Nothing could be further from the truth. As late as 2005, Mitt Romney pledged to support and uphold pro-abortion policies and passed taxpayer funding of abortions in Massachusetts. His wife Ann has contributed money to Planned Parenthood. Mitt told the National Abortion Rights Action League that ‘you need someone like me in Washington.’ Romney still supports life-destructive embryonic stem cell research and he still opposes the Human Life Amendment which is part of the Republican Party’s platform. Stand up for life and say no to Romney. This call has been paid for by Brownback for President.”

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed Romney to specifically state what in the ad was untrue. In response, Romney stated, “I am pro-life. That’s the truth.” He went on to add that “the best way to learn about someone is not by asking their opponent, but ask them.”

During the forum Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said he stands by the text of the automated call.

“That’s a truthful ad,” said Brownback. “That’s what campaigns are about — getting the truth out, expressing the differences between the candidates.”

Before the discussion had ended, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson had their say as well.

“I believe the best way we can have common ground in this debate that you’re hearing is if we put our emphasis on reducing abortions and increasing the number of adoptions, which is something I did as mayor of New York City,” Giuliani said. “But I think, ultimately, that decision that has to be made is one government shouldn’t make. Ultimately, the woman should make that with her conscience and with her doctor.”

The former mayor received a limited round of applause for his views on the subject.

“Every year the Republican Party both at the state level in Iowa and nationally comes out very avidly and passionately on being pro-life,” said Thompson. “I think any candidate that is pro-choice is going to have difficulty with the party faithful and those individuals who have come to the district, state and national meetings and have avowed time and time again that this party, the Republican Party, is a party of pro-life.”

Thompson went on to say that being so “tied up in one issue” is preventing a national discussion on larger issues that affect all Americans such as health care.

In contrast, however, McCain, when asked by Stephanopoulos if focusing on one thing was distracting from issues of national security, said he would not agree that discussions on abortion are distracting from other needed conversations.

“I think the respect and commitment to the rights of the unborn is something I fought for and it has a lot to do with national security,” McCain said. “It says very much what kind of a country we are and our respect for human life whether it be here in the United States or in China or Bangladesh or the Congo or any place else in the world. So I think it is connected.”

On Monday the Brownback team continued to pound Romney on the abortion issue. A press release arrived at roughly 4 p.m. containing a link to the Brownback blog and another link to a newly created video on YouTube. The video features Brownback as a talking head, voicing his displeasure not only with Romney refusing to own up to the assertions in the original robo-call, but also with “name calling.”

“You can call somebody a name, but facts are more stubborn,” says Brownback in the video.

So, what are the facts? According to Tahman Bradley of the ABC News fact check, there was more than one step outside the lines of “truthiness” during the forum. Bradley says that Giuliani may have crossed the line when highlighting his accomplishments in increasing adoptions.

A review of an official New York City document conducted by Factcheck.org looking at adoptions over a ten-year span shows that although Giuliani increased adoptions at a rate higher than his predecessor David Dinkins, adoptions under Giuliani declined five out of the last six years he was in office. Perhaps the former mayor is overstating his accomplishments just a bit. Depends on how you look at it.

Romney also appears to have veered left during his assertion that he has not been in favor of taxpayer funded abortion.

But according to an article published by the Boston Globe dated March 25, 2005, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood indicates that Romney said he “professed support for state funding of abortion services for low-income women” when answering a Planned Parenthood questionnaire.

Only days remain for things to heat up for the Iowa Republican Party fund-raiser known as the Ames Straw Poll. If we all sit quietly, we’ll probably be able to hear the Bic lighters flicking.

Tuesday morning the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and Gazette Communications watched a collaborative project come to fruition. Over 2,000 arrest warrants – the oldest dating back to 1965 – have been massaged into a database, searchable via the internet.

“We had so many outstanding warrants,” Sheriff Don Zeller explained, “that they filled two large filing cabinets. Our office attempted to serve these warrants, but addresses were bad. We followed up on leads, but have reached dead ends.”

Under Iowa law, an arrest warrant is confidential until it is served. The only exception to that rule is when a law enforcement officer, county attorney office official, magistrate or other official court employee releases the information. Even then, the official must act within the realm of her public role. These rules allowed law enforcement to work cases without fear of alerting suspects.

Zeller says there was a great deal of discussion before the data was released. “I personally spoke with the County Attorney and others on the subject of public record and confidentiality,” he said. “It was the consensus that this was an appropriate interpretation of the law.”

Ben Stone, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, agrees with the Sheriff, but remains cautious.

“If you have an arrest warrant out on you, that’s something law enforcement can release as public record,” he said. “The concern is the potential for harassment and the potential for vigilantism. Accuracy is also very important and the public needs to be assured that steps have been taken to ensure the information is accurate.”

According to information on the site, inactive warrants will be purged from the database weekly and the new arrest warrants added every three months. Warrants appearing in the database are at least 30 days old. Warrants on the site, according to Zeller, represent the vast majority of arrest warrants in Linn County.

In addition, users are specifically asked (in text under the database search form) not to confront people they believe to be in the database. Instead, users are asked to contact the Sherriff’s Office by either phone or an email address listed on the page.

Stone said he hoped this initiative would lead to further discussion and debate. “It’s important to look not only at the short term, but also at the long term to determine if the system is causing more good than harm.”

When asked to evaluate the first two days of the venture, Zeller stated the response had been “tremendous.”

“A number of users are checking on people they are dating, engaged to or people they employ,” he said, noting that on an average day the Gazette would receive 18,000 hits. At 10 p.m. on the first day of this launch, the site had jumped to over 106,000 hits, according to Zeller.

On that first day, he added, two individuals called and wanted to turn themselves in after finding their names on the list. Both the email and phone had been used by other various tipsters yesterday and today.

At this time only the warrants from Linn County are available on line, but that could soon change.

“We’ve found such great success with this – and I can’t emphasize that enough – we’ve had nothing but good comments about it,” Zeller said. “It’s my understanding that Johnson County, Iowa City and Coralville have also been approached and are considering use of the same system.”