'The woman has a heartbeat, too': Southeast Iowa residents react to Supreme Court ruling

After a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court Friday ended the constitutional right to abortion, Burlington area activists are reacting with dissatisfaction, but for different reasons.

In overturning Roe v. Wade, the court ended a nationwide reproductive right it established 49 years ago.

For the the time being, abortion laws will be decided by the states. In Iowa, the future of abortion access seems less than certain.

Current Iowa law allows for abortion until 20 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond that, it is only allowed to save the life of the mother.

The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled that the state constitution does not guarantee a fundamental right to abortion, reversing a 2018 decision.

More: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, eliminating constitutional right to abortion

And it is unclear if Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the Statehouse will pursue any restrictions on abortion.

For Burlington-area residents, abortion is already difficult to access, with the nearest clinics hours away in Iowa City and Bettendorf.

Due to funding cuts, the Planned Parenthood of the Heartland clinic in Burlington closed in 2017, but that facility did not provide surgical abortions prior to its closing

Alexandra Rucinski, a Burlington native who has worked as a volunteer for Planned Parenthood, told The Hawk Eye on Friday that she was upset and horrified by the Supreme Court's decision.

Rucinski said she began to get more involved in politics after the election of Donald Trump, and it soon became clear to her that Friday's Supreme Court decision was coming. She said she is angry about what she sees as a lack of consideration for women who find themselves in the most difficult of circumstances brought about by unwanted pregnancies.

"Most of the women who have abortions are those who already have children that they can barely afford to raise," Rucinski said. "It is absolutely unfair for others to think they have the right to tell women they have to give birth to a child. That should not be anyone else's decision.

More: With Roe v. Wade overturned, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds vows to protect 'every unborn Iowan'

"The woman has a heartbeat, too. That's what is most upsetting about all of this. ... Don't they have the right to their own life without someone else controlling them?"

While one would think Friday's ruling would have made Dan and Donna Holman happy, the Keokuk couple said they believe the court made the decision for the wrong reasons.

More: With Roe v. Wade overturned, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds vows to protect 'every unborn Iowan'

"After 49 years of legalized child sacrifice, and over 70 million murdered children, the U.S. Supreme Court partially admits to its erroneous ruling in Roe v. Wade," Dan Holman said in an email. "By selecting only the weakest of arguments for overturning Roe, SCOTUS leaves us with a legal mess."

The couple believe life begins at fertilization. They also believe that, while condom use should be allowed, other forms of birth control (such as the the "morning-after" pill) could be considered alternative forms of abortion. They believe, ultimately, that sex should be for procreation, not recreation.

The couple are no strangers to this debate. Donna Holman has been protesting abortion since 1972 and Dan since 1981. The two have protested outside of many abortion and women's health clinics including Planned Parenthood clinics in Burlington, Iowa City, Carthage, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The couple became known throughout the region for their in-your-face abortion protesting methods, which has included targeting politicians and abortion rights activists and traveling in a van used to display photos of aborted fetuses, Bible scriptures and other anti-abortion messages.

Donna Holman said she's been arrested 16 times for her abortion protesting activities. Dan says he's been arrested more than 100 times, including in Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Illinois and South Dakota.

In January 2008, Donna Holman spent the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in a Johnson County jail, serving out a 30-day sentence after being convicted of third-degree harassment from a confrontation with patients at the Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa clinic in Iowa City in November 2006.

More: How are Iowa abortion laws affected by the U.S. Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade?

"They (Planned Parenthood employees) didn't like people in the waiting room hearing me say, 'thou shall not murder,' " Donna told The Hawk Eye in 2008.

Dan Holman argued that the court's decision to allow states to decide their own abortion regulations is a copout and does not do enough to protect the lives of the unborn.

"It should not be permissible to kill a child born or unborn," he said. "It shouldn't matter which state the mother lives in."

U.S. Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents Des Moines County, issued a statement on the Supreme Court's decision Friday, writing:

"Today, the Supreme Court made the important decision to allow individual states to be able to uphold the sanctity of life and protect the unborn. As a doctor, I believe that every life is precious and I have always and will always vote in support of protecting life and the unborn.

Just as I did when I was a State Senator, I will continue to work to ensure women have access to affordable contraceptives, quality maternal care, and provide support and increase awareness to adoption services.”

Democrat Christina Bohannan of Iowa City, Miller-Meeks' challenger for her congressional seat in the November election also, issued a statement, writing:

"Today, the Supreme Court did something nearly unprecedented in the history of our country – it stripped away a constitutional right from Americans. By completely eliminating the established right to an abortion, the court has destroyed 50 years of law holding that our constitution protects a person’s right to control their own body.

Today’s decision is the result of years of extreme policy and rhetoric targeting women and their rights. Politicians like my opponent, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, have eagerly awaited this opportunity to implement radical laws that punish women and their doctors. They are aggressively pushing bills to abolish the right to abortion without any exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. Health care decisions should be made by women and their doctors, not politicians in Washington.

I cannot accept a world where my daughter has fewer rights than I did. Today’s Supreme Court decision is not the end of our fight – it is only the beginning. As Iowans, we must fight not only for the right to make our own healthcare decisions, but for the freedom of every person and every family to control the most fundamental and private aspects of our lives. We have to fight for our reproductive freedom and the stakes have never been higher. That’s why we can’t stay on the sidelines this election cycle.

I hope you will join me in this fight."

As disheartened as she and others may be over the Supreme Court's decision, Rucinski said it is important to work to get Republicans out of office, which means not only voting for Democrats, but also working to get young people to vote.

"I don't think we're outnumbered," she said of those with similar beliefs on the importance of abortion rights. "I think that young people just need to be aware of what's at stake and make their voices heard."

Hawk Eye reporter Laigha Anderson contributed to this report.

Brad Vidmar covers public safety and education for The Hawk Eye and can be reached via email at BVidmar@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Southeast Iowa abortion advocates and opponents speak out on ruling