[ad_1]
“As part of our top-down and bottom-up audit of victim assistance, Attorney General Byrd is carefully evaluating whether this is an appropriate use of public funds,” said Byrd spokeswoman Alyssa Brouillet in a statement. said in “Payment on these pending claims will be delayed until review is complete.”
Victim advocates were caught off-guard by the pause. Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO Ruth Richardson said in her statement that the move was “deplorable and reprehensible.”
Byrd’s decision comes at a time when access to the most commonly used abortion method in the U.S. was thrown into uncertainty on Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion drug mifepristone. So far, the drug that the Food and Drug Administration approved in 2000 appears at least soon to be available following another ruling issued in quick succession.
Former President Donald Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Matthew Kaksmalik of Texas has ordered mifepristone’s federal approval to be suspended. But that decision came at about the same time that former President Barack Obama-nominated U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice of Washington issued an order essentially to the contrary.
The extraordinary timing of the competing order reveals the high stakes surrounding the drug nearly a year after the US Supreme Court overturned it. Law vs. Wade Restricted access to abortion across the country. President Joe Biden said his administration will oppose the Texas ruling.
In Iowa, the Victim Compensation Fund is funded from fines and penalties paid by convicted offenders. For victims of sexual assault, state law requires the fund to pay “for the cost of the victim’s physical examination for the purpose of collecting evidence and the cost of the victim’s treatment for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.” but risk of contraception or pregnancy.
Sandy Tibbetts-Murphy, who served as director of the Victim Assistance Division under Miller, said a longstanding policy in Iowa was to include the cost of emergency contraception in the fund’s cost. It said funds were paid for the abortions of rape victims.
“My concern is for victims of sexual assault who, without warning, either cannot access the treatment and services they need, or are forced to access them out of their own pocket. It’s not their fault,” she said.
[ad_2]
Source link