However, we cannot ignore what the individual states are up to at a time of high drama in the federal

government. The Iowa 2017 legislative docket looks like a mixed bag. Including bills about “Stand Your Ground” laws (remember the legislation used to justify the murder of Trayvon Martin?) and various bills looking to restrict voting rights, there is legislation being introduced all across the board in terms of topics and political stances.

Here are some of the bills being introduced related to reproductive justice:

Senate File 11: Maternal Health Care for Low-Income Women

This legislation aims to establish a way for low-income women who use a Medicaid family-planning program for their pre-natal care to receive continued, comprehensive coverage after they give birth.

Senate File 2: Defunding Planned Parenthood/State-Only Family Planning Program

Connected to the tirade about defunding Planned Parenthood, this bill aims to take Planned Parenthood clinics out of the Medicaid-approved health care provider networks. This means that people with Medicaid would not be able to get their care from Planned Parenthood covered. This would be a substantial blow to our local Planned Parenthood’s security, because it could mean that they lose a large group of their patients.

Senate File 53: Abortion Prohibitions

This bill prevents anyone from having a legal, safe abortion after 20 weeks, unless the “unborn baby’s life” is in danger. You read that right: not in case the woman’s life is in danger. No, that would be too humane. This bill protects the fetus and not the woman/ fetal container.

Senate File 67: Oral Hormonal Contraceptives

This bill would let pharmacists prescribe and then sell women hormonal birth control pills regardless of whether or not they have a prescription from a doctor.

Senate File 27: Abortion Funding Restrictions

This bill prohibits people from using federal health care reform money (like Obamacare subsidies) to pay for an abortion in Iowa. It also prohibits using any federal health care reform money to pay for insurance plans that may cover abortion, regardless of whether or not someone actually uses that plan to pay for an abortion.

Senate File 52: Fetal Body Parts

“A person shall not knowingly acquire, provide, receive, otherwise transfer, or use a fetal body part in this state, regardless of whether the acquisition, provision, receipt, transfer, or use is for valuable consideration”. This bill was introduced by Brad Zaun. Brad, you do know those videos about Planned Parenthood and “selling fetuses” was completely fake right???? No? You’re still thinkin’ ’bout it? How did you even get elected???

So what should you do with all this information? 

Here is a way to find your local representative’s contact information. If you care about women’s bodily autonomy you should let your representative know what you think about these bills!

Genuine Justice is a column about reproductive justice focusing on current events, historical perspectives and racism in women’s healthcare.

The post Genuine Justice: New Bills About Reproductive Justice in Iowa appeared first on KRUI Radio.

*This article contains language that may not be appropriate for minors*

In this actually insane, ridiculously controversial ride of an election season, a few candidates have made themselves known more than others. On one side of the table we have the former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, who was a household name before she made her second presidential bid. Perhaps the former FL has become even more spoken of in recent months because of the unprecedented challenger to her campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has made his own name widely known.

On the other side, the notorious Donald Trump is all most people see (much to the fault of the TV news media). Trump sucks up the majority of the spotlight with the uncouth statements that he makes every few moments. Turning on the morning news often yields the same results– an update on Trump’s ravings from the last 24 hours.

Trump was up against Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich. His two contenders often fell into obscurity in his wake, though Cruz appeared to be a real contender for the Republican nomination. Despite his decision to drop out of the 2016 presidential race, it is important that we think about what might have been– many considered Cruz the “next best option.”

Multiple well-known figures have come out with statements recently telling America not to vote for Cruz. This includes former Speaker of the House, John Boehner, a member of Cruz’s own party. To be specific, Boehner reportedly called Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh.” Boehner went on to say the following:

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

On a more humorous note, Ted Cruz’s college roommate, Craig Mazin, has also made a number of statements about Cruz via Twitter. These comments sometimes discuss Mazin’s college experience with Cruz, but also speak of Cruz’s character.

While none of these statements are explicitly about Cruz’s policies, this is where the Senator becomes more problematic. Just for clarification, here are some of Ted Cruz’s most staunch proposed policies:

In recent months, Cruz has made it very clear that he opposes all abortion– including abortions in the case of rape or incest.

Cruz has also said that if he were to become the President of the United States, he would attempt to abolish the Department of Education, along with four other major federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the IRS.

On the topic of American Muslims, Cruz has said that he supports increased policing of neighborhoods with large populations of Muslim citizens. “We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,” Cruz has explicitly claimed. Apparently Cruz is under the misconception that the only population that can become radicalized is a Muslim population.

Ted Cruz is also a large proponent of ending the era of “political correctness,” or in other words, being a decent human being. Cruz claims that political correctness is “killing people.”

These are just a few of Cruz’s stunning policies. The list of ideological thought processes and fundamental principles gone awry goes on and on. While we now have Trump as the de facto Republican nominee and this seems entirely horrible, America just might have a dodged a Ted Cruz bullet.

And while it may seem as though Ted Cruz is effectively waging a war against himself with his undesirable social thought, the internet is waging a war that is much more fierce.

If you’re looking for a laugh, just Google “Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer.” Let the Internet tell you itself. But here is a final piece of beauty provided for you to feast your eyes on:

Shut Up and Listen is a politically-based opinion column in which you, the reader, shut up and listen to what I have to say and then formulate opinions and come to your own conclusions. 

The post Shut Up and Listen: Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer appeared first on KRUI Radio.