Cari Sagar

Iowa View contributor

In Iowa, we’re pretty familiar with Rep. Steve King’s brand of far-right politics. His race-baiting, immigrant-fearing conservatism has long been examined and debated in the pages of the Register.

But now, King’s radicalism seems to have co-opted the national Republican Party, and a little-noticed announcement showed just how far the GOP has slid.

Rep. King was scheduled to lead a panel on Wednesday to discuss his proposal to ban abortion nationwide at just six weeks of pregnancy — before many women even know they're pregnant.

King, who believes that birth control is a sign of a “dying civilization,” is trying to one-up himself by pushing the most extreme abortion ban to receive a committee hearing in recent memory. It is beyond shameful that King and his friends in Congress are spending their time on an abortion ban that will put women at grave risk. This tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.

What’s worse, King admitted that he wants to go even further and totally ban abortion in the United States. King and others have conceded that their current efforts are merely stepping stones to make it totally illegal. It’s not hyperbole to state that their true motive is to slowly erode our rights until women no longer have the ability to access abortion, control our bodies, or live as equal partners in society.

Unfortunately, what was once a fringe movement has now taken over the national GOP, with party leaders lining up to support King’s dangerous proposal. A total of 168 other Republicans have signed on in support of the effort — including Reps. Rod Blum and David Young here in Iowa — giving dangerous momentum to a bill that would have devastating consequences for the health and well-being of women across the country.

The No. 2 House Republican, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, has called for an even more extreme ban, and Vice President Mike Pence has said that these bans are “an important step” to outlawing abortion altogether.

These politicians are receiving the financial backing of anti-choice groups like SBA List, who have spent more than $100,000 in just the last few years to prop up the campaigns of Rep. King and other fringe candidates in Iowa alone.

The sad truth is that women’s rights are being thrown under the bus because Congressional Republicans haven’t been successful at doing much else. Instead, they settle for throwing red meat to their political base after failing to notch a single legislative accomplishment all year, despite unified Republican control of government.

In the past few months, Republican leaders have escalated their attacks on a woman’s right to choose abortion care. Congressional Republicans introduced a plan that would ban a woman from accessing abortion later in her pregnancy, even if the health of the mother or child is at risk. President Donald Trump acted unilaterally to outlaw employers from providing their female employees with birth control. And administration officials personally intervened to try forcing an undocumented woman from accessing abortion.

For these out-of-touch legislators, this is all about appeasing an increasingly fringe political base and furthering their own political careers.

We know that 7 in 10 Americans agree that abortion should remain legal and accessible. And it’s as true here in Iowa as it is anywhere else in the country. Women and families across Iowa elect leaders to fight to better our lives, not to waste our tax dollars to fight endless wars on abortion.

That’s why NARAL members across Iowa aren’t letting out-of-touch politicians like King and Blum force their extreme agendas on families across the state. We’ll continue to hold them accountable, and to stand up to anyone who threatens the health, well-being, and basic rights of women and our families.

Cari Sagar is the executive director for NARAL Pro-Choice Iowa.