The freedom to make basic healthcare decisions

The right to abortion and birth control – and the freedom to make basic healthcare decisions without government control – are some of the most important issues of our time. My opponent, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, has taken an extreme position on both abortion and birth control. She has said she is “100 percent pro-life;” has sponsored a “Life at Conception” bill in Congress that would make abortion illegal across the country with no exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother; and just voted against a bill that would guarantee our right to birth control.

Miller-Meeks is out of touch with the overwhelming majority of Iowans on these critical issues, so now she is misrepresenting her position. In a recent Iowa City Press-Citizen article, Miller-Meeks tried to portray a more nuanced position, saying she is “pro-life with the exceptions of rape, incest or the life of the mother.” These words are flatly contradicted by her actions in Congress when it comes to legislation she sponsors and her voting record.

This is not the first time Miller-Meeks has said one thing to Iowans and voted the opposite way in Washington. In fact, she has a reputation for misrepresenting facts and refusing to tell the truth. But don’t take my word for it: The Editorial Board of the Ottumwa Courier, her hometown paper, said months ago that Miller-Meeks has “a concerning detachment from facts and reality” and admonished her to “stick to the truth.” The Quad City Times has likewise run a lengthy and detailed story chronicling her dishonest statements.

Rep. Miller-Meeks can try to deceive us, but here’s the truth: in Washington DC, Miller-Meeks is leading the charge to give government control over women’s health care decisions and our private lives. When it comes to one of the defining issues of our time, we must set the record straight and insist that our representatives tell the truth. Iowans’ privacy and fundamental freedoms depend on it.

Christina Bohannan

Iowa City