WASHINGTON – On the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is supporting the Conscience Protection Act to protect healthcare providers and insurance plans from government discrimination if they decline to participate in abortions. The bill also provides a private right of action for victims of conscience discrimination.

“Iowa’s health care professionals, who work to protect life, shouldn’t have to choose between their careers and their conscience,” Ernst said. “Providers went into the field to help society, not to be a cog in Democrats’ abortion-on-demand machine. There are already more than two dozen conscience protections laws on the books, but it’s a shame the Biden administration refuses to protect health care workers from being forced to perform abortions.”

Background

As Democrats attempt to rip away freedom protections, Ernst is leading the commonsense Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act which seeks to promote access to and availability of safe and effective contraception for women and families without violating the consciences of Americans.

Ernst has long been a fierce advocate in the fight for life. In 2020, after learning that Planned Parenthood received loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, Ernst called for a full investigation and pressed the Small Business Administrator on her work to get to the bottom of this. In 2021, Ernst urged the Small Business Administration to take action to ensure Planned Parenthood affiliates did not receive second-draw loans.

Ernst is also leading the Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act and supporting the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act.

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