Iowa, national conservative leaders talk abortion, school choice at Family Leader event

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke on a panel about education hosted by Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines July 12, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Iowa and national conservative leaders discussed wins and future goals for issues like abortion and education policy Friday at the Family Leadership Summit, with one of the group’s officials calling for further abortion restrictions in Iowa.

The Family Leader, an influential conservative Christian organization, brought speakers to the gathering of an estimated 1,000 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. Family Leader Vice President Chuck Hurley, who works as an advocate and lobbyist at the Iowa Legislature, told the crowd that that conservative Christians have seen major successes in Iowa in recent years.

“Less than 14 years ago, all three branches of Iowa’s government were pro-abortion, pro-deviant sexuality and were anti-God honoring education — the governor, the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court,” Hurley said. “But by God’s grace and your support, just four elections later, in 2016, Iowans have had elected a pro-life, pro-family governor and Legislature, and things began to change.”

One important, recent conservative win in Iowa, Hurley said, was the recent state Supreme Court abortion decision.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law Iowa’s six-week abortion ban at the 2023 Family Leadership Summit . A year later, speakers at the event celebrated the June Iowa Supreme Court decision to uphold the law — a significant win after the court struck down a similar so-called “fetal heartbeat” law that had been signed in 2018 last year.

Under the latest court decision, most abortions will be illegal in Iowa after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, something that occurs as early as six weeks of pregnancy. There are exceptions to the ban in cases of rape and incest, if reported within specified time frames to law enforcement, a public health agency or a doctor, as well as when the medical procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Hurley called the 4-3 court decision a “major, major answer to prayer,” thanking the four judges who overturned the injunction on the abortion law as well as Reynolds for appointing them. But he said work on restricting abortion in Iowa is not over.

“While we make great strides in protecting the most innocent among us, we aren’t done,” Hurley said. “Fourteen states now protect babies from the moment of conception, and Iowa should be the 15th.”

Advocates for reproductive health care say the law will functionally ban a majority of abortions in Iowa , as many people are not aware they are pregnant at six weeks of gestation. Others, like Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University, said after the Iowa Supreme Court decision that Iowa lawmakers may pursue other measures to restrict access to abortions, like an Idaho law that would make helping a pregnant minor get an abortion in another state punishable by up to five years in prison.

While Reynolds did not specifically touch on abortion policy when she spoke at the event, she said religious groups, and specifically the Family Leader, have played an “instrumental” role in shaping public policy during her tenure in office, meeting monthly or quarterly to discuss a variety of policy subjects.

“ We talk about areas that we can partner, how we can lift up the people that we can serve, initiatives that you’re working on and that we’re working on, and how we can coordinate and really elevate what we’re doing,” the governor said. “ We’ve done that with life, and we’ve done that with school choice.”

Reynolds, DeVos talk education policy, ‘school choice’

Another victory highlighted at the event was the state’s education savings account (ESA) program, signed by Reynolds in January 2023 , a measure Hurley called a “huge generational win for parents and children, and for God’s kingdom.”

In a panel led by Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats, Reynolds and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos praised one another for their work in education and expanding the availability and public funding for K-12 private and charter schools as alternatives to public school systems.

Much of the conversation centered on Iowa’s ESA program, providing public funding for private school tuition and associated fees. The program provides scholarships that match per-pupil funding at Iowa’s K-12 public schools — for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, an fund of $7,826 per participating student. The law is on a three-year timeline for implementation, being available to all kindergarteners, Iowa public school students and private school students with a family income of 300% or below the federal poverty line in the first year of implementation — the 2023-2024 school year. In the upcoming year, the family income eligibility limit will grow to 400% of the FPL, and in the 2025-26 school year on there will be no income limit.

Reynolds said that while she has been an advocate for “school choice” for many years, she believed the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on schools has changed many people’s minds about the correct path forward for education policy.

“You always think, ‘those problems are in other school districts, it’s not in my school district. My school district is great,'” Reynolds said. “… But I think COVID, honestly, served it up on on a silver platter for us. It was a defining moment, it really gave parents a proper seat to see what was happening in their classrooms.”

Following the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans hold a majority in the Iowa House and a supermajority in the Iowa Senate, in addition to holding all statewide elected offices except the state auditor — won in 2022 by Democratic incumbent Rob Sand. In addition to the 2022 general election wins, Hurley highlighted the influence of the Family Leader, as well as supporters and allies like Reynolds and the American Federation for Children, in the previous cycle’s primary elections.

Several incumbent GOP lawmakers were unseated by challengers in the 2022 Iowa primaries , largely over the issue of private school scholarships — a program Reynolds was unable to get over the finish line in multiple legislative sessions due to insufficient GOP support. Following many of these successful Republican primary challengers going on to win in the general election, Reynolds was able to sign into law a version of the program that was more expansive than previous versions , creating a system where ESA funds will be available to all Iowa families without income limits beginning in the third year of implementation.

DeVos praised Reynolds’ “fearlessness” in pursuing the ESA program, especially when faced with challenges from within the Republican party.

“She really did set a new tone when taking on members of her own party who refused to make that step to give families that power, and it was not without a lot of difficulty and a lot of political capital, shall we say,” DeVos said. “ But clearly she knew where her constituents in Iowa were, and are, on that subject.”

Reynolds, DeVos speak on potential Trump VP picks

The speakers also touched on the presidential race between presumptive nominees President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. In the panel with Reynolds and DeVos, Vander Plaats asked what qualities the two Republicans wanted to see in Trump’s vice presidential candidate.

DeVos, a member of Trump’s administration from 2017 to 2021, said she wanted to see a vice presidential nominee with strong principles who is able to disagree and debate with Trump “behind the scenes” on important issues. She also defended former Vice President Mike Pence’s role during the Trump’s presidency — a subject of disagreement among Republicans following his criticism of Trump for attempting to overturn 2020 election results and his own campaign to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee .

“I think Vice President Mike Pence has not gotten nearly the credit due to him for the role he played in the first Trump administration,” DeVos said. “There were a lot of … moments and a lot of things that could have unfolded differently had it not been for Mike Pence’s seasoned political experience and his wise counsel behind the scenes.”

Reynolds said she agreed with DeVos, calling for someone who could offer pushback to Trump that he would seriously consider when making important decisions. She also said that she was “partial to governors” when considering who should take the vice presidential position, as governors have executive branch experience.

Trump has indicated he may announce his vice president pick at the Republican National Convention next week, with expected contenders including U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance and Tim Scott, as well as former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders have been floated as potential Trump running mates.

“You’re not just the governor of  (a) party,” Reynolds said, “you have to be the governor of the state, and so you have to understand you have that philosophy, of course, that drives your decision, but you also have to be able to govern a state as well, so and then absolutely, you need somebody that can step in if something would happen.”

The post Iowa, national conservative leaders talk abortion, school choice at Family Leader event appeared first on Iowa Capital Dispatch .