Bohannan meets with UI medical students to discuss health care, abortion and advocacy

Congressional District hopeful Christina Bohannan defended abortion rights and took aim at Marianette Miller-Meeks' stance after speaking with University of Iowa medical students on Monday.

Bohannan challenged the first congressional district representative on her abortion voting record in an interview with the Press-Citizen after a forum about medical misinformation and new legislation.

Bohannan, a law professor and former state representative, pledges to support women's rights.

“Over and over and over, (Miller-Meeks) has signed on to every abortion ban that has ever been put in front of her and has completely disregarded women's freedom and their privacy and their health,” Bohannan said.

Bohannon was joined by Abbey Hardy-Fairbanks, the medical director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, at Monday's event on the University of Iowa campus. The duo touched on various subjects, focusing on helping patients with laws they disagree with.

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A changing landscape

A University of Iowa student asked Bohannan how they should communicate their displeasure with state laws and regulation changes that might "drive them out of Iowa" once they finish medical school.

“When you graduate, what kind of community are you looking to settle in?” Bohannan said. “What kind of place do you want to live?”

Bohannan and Hardy-Fairbanks were clear that advocacy is important, which includes "the ongoing fight against" a bill passed by Republicans and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds that would outlaw most abortions after six weeks. A Polk County judge placed an injunction on the law three days after its passage last July, which remains in effect.

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A defender of abortion rights

Bohannan is the only Democrat to announce a candidacy for the 1st Congressional District. If she prevails in the summer primary, she will face Miller-Meeks in a rematch for the state’s first Congressional district in 2022.

The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America advocacy group gave Miller-Meeks an A+ rating alongside most of her Republican colleagues in both the House and Senate, including the other three Congressional delegates in Iowa and Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Miller-Meeks has voted for multiple provisions in bills in the past year that sustained pro-life amendments to legislation. She has also denounced the Biden administration for its handling of abortion issues following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn the long-standing abortion protections established in Roe v. Wade.

“As a doctor, I believe that every life is precious and should be protected,” Miller-Meeks said in a Facebook video thanking March for Life activists in mid-January.

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Bohannan has earned an endorsement from EMILY'S List, an abortion rights group that boasts strong fundraising power.

She said it’s important for lawmakers to consider information from medical professionals because "they are the ones who see and hear from patients facing challenging decisions about their future and their babies."

“I think that those are things that we need to listen to as policymakers and as government officials, and unfortunately," Bohannan said. "What we have right now is politicians who are not listening to that science and not listening to the physicians who are actually providing that care, who are seeing these patients day in and day out."

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Christina Bohannan talks health care, abortion with Iowa medical students