Waterloo Times

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst released a statement regarding abortion rights in the United States the day of the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

In a release, published ahead of the anti-abortion March for Life on Jan. 21, Ernst, an active member of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, reiterated her stance on abortion.

"To Americans of all ages who are proud to stand up for Life, I encourage you to continue making your voices heard as we keep working to grow the pro-life movement. #MarchforLife," Ernst tweeted. The post to Twitter also included video of her conversation with Marilyn Musgraves, vice president of government affairs for the nonprofit Susan B. Anthony List.

In a report from Gallup, polls found that opinions on abortion in Iowa typically trended along party lines, with most Republicans leaning anti-abortion and most Democrats in favor of abortion rights. States are not required to report abortion cases to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the CDC, but abortion surveillance has been used since 1969 to collect national numbers of women obtaining legal induced abortions.

"Every single life is precious," Ernst said in the release. "Yet right now, only a handful of states record abortion data in a comprehensive and verifiably accurate way, including tragic cases where babies are born alive during abortions. This straightforward effort will require states to report abortion data accurately and completely, ensuring that no life is ever ignored, hidden, or forgotten."

Most medical practitioners define early medical abortion as the administration of medications to induce an abortion at less than nine weeks. In total, early medical abortion has risen to about 123% from 2010 to 2019, according to the CDC.

Ernst's comments follow many statements calling for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which protected a women's right to legal abortion in 1973. Several red states have proposed or enacted new restrictions on abortions in the last few years.