Joni Ernst Is Bad For Iowa Women

[Omaha Steve]

A guest post from Ashley Burns.

Senator Joni Ernst is bad for Iowa women.

Aside from being the first woman elected to the Senate from Iowa, she has done little to advance the progress of women in our state. In fact, Senator Ernst actively uses her legislative power against Iowa women and their families. Her numerous votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), her vote to seat Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh despite allegations of sexual assault, and her actions to defund Planned Parenthood only further hinder the progress women in Iowa have been trying to make.

When the ACA passed in 2010, millions of women gained access to fairer, more affordable healthcare coverage. Its passage meant that women no longer had to pay more solely because of their identification as female. The ACA also meant that women could no longer be denied coverage due to “pre-existing conditions,” such as pregnancy or mental health disorders. Based on American Community Survey data, there are 67 million women and girls nationally with identifiable pre-existing conditions. Of that, 642,000 of them are from Iowa.

For women like me, the ACA was a game changer. As a millennial woman recently diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a hormone-based mood disorder that coincides with the menstrual cycle, the fight to preserve the ACA and its benefits is a personal one. PMDD can be a largely manageable disorder if controlled with proper medication and treatment options.

Joni Ernst’s repeated attacks on the ACA show just how out-of-touch she is with women who live with a pre-existing condition. Each time Ernst obtains an opportunity to preserve essential components of the ACA, she votes against them. A vote against the ACA is a vote against me. It is a vote against my ability to be taken seriously as a woman and my ability to be insured at the same rate as men. It is a vote against my well-being. Ernst’s actions to gut the ACA are unacceptable.

FULL story: https://iowastartingline.com/2019/03/01/joni-ernst-is-bad-for-iowa-women/

[MLAA]

1. She is bad for all women!

[Ohiogal]

2. I hope

every woman in Iowa votes against her next time.