Media Contact

Sheena Dooley, Planned Parenthood, sdooley@ppncs.org or cell: 515.380.4634
Veronica Fowler, ACLU of Iowa, veronica.fowler@aclu-ia.org or cell: 515.451.1777 

April 1, 2020

Joint Statement from Sarah Stoesz, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, Rita Bettis Austen, Legal Director for ACLU of Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic on today’s order from Johnson County court:

“Today, the Court entered an order by agreement of the parties that allows physicians to treat abortion the same as other procedures and allows them to make a case-by-case determination for each patient. Therefore, Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic will resume seeing patients for in-clinic procedures, in compliance with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proclamation.”

We are all hoping for the quick end to this pandemic crisis and, in the meantime, we want to reassure patients that if they need to seek abortion or other reproductive health care services, they should contact Planned Parenthood to consult with a health care provider. We, like all health care providers, must be focused on our patients right now and today’s agreement allows us to do so.”

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Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides, promotes, and protects reproductive and sexual health through health services, education, and advocacy. An affiliate of America’s most trusted provider of reproductive health care, PPHeartland is proud to offer a full range of high-quality services at health centers in Iowa and Nebraska.

The ACLU of Iowa is a private, non-partisan organization that fights to advance civil liberties for all. It is the state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU prides itself in upholding everyone’s civil liberties, no matter who they are or what they believe. We work to assure the rights of all Iowans—from atheists to devout Christians, from labor unions to businesspeople and more—to make sure the constitutional rights of all are preserved. For more information, please go to www.aclu-ia.org.