Last week, Planned Parenthood had their annual Lobby Day event. It’s a day to lobby, it’s a day to legislate, it’s a day to talk with your representatives — that is, if they are willing to talk to you.
Lobby day is a day to repurpose feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness against Iowa Republican legislators who continue time and time again to introduce bills that threaten our right to abortion as well as the reputation of abortion, (Cue Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” album here).
It is a day to gather Planned Parenthood supporting forces and use the communicative skills necessary to articulate to the Iowa legislators that have been voted into office why they shouldn’t pass bills that demean their constituents.
On Feb. 29, abortion advocates and Planned Parenthood supporters alike gathered at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church at 9 a.m. We began the event with hearing the amazing speakers from Planned Parenthood of the North Central States, like Masie Stilwell, Carolina Ramos and Gabriela Fuentes, who discussed the bills we would be discussing with our legislators. Afterwards, we began our walk to the Iowa State Capitol.
As we walked up Grand Avenue, shoulder to shoulder and in Planned Parenthood’s signature sea of pink — I with a pink megaphone to match — one single car drove by. Though plenty of cars drive around Grand, this one had its own signature feature, one that I can only describe as complete and utter bullshit. Some guy was barking at us from the passenger side of a vehicle.
While I must applaud this man for his canine impression, because I honestly thought a real dog was nearby, I felt extremely angry because what a jerk. Here we are, a group of like-minded individuals defending Planned Parenthood for all Iowans, and here comes a man actively demeaning our work and our mission to protect abortion-related care. As if we were protesting something insignificant.
I have experienced car creeps many times before, but this particular time reminded me of another very special time: I, a high school senior, was driving and enjoying my music with the windows down and, while stopped at a red light, was cat-called by a group of men crossing the street while inside my own car. Even though I could have run these men over, they still made their obscene comments and sexual remarks like they knew I wouldn’t hurt them.
Even from the vantage point of a vehicle, I was still a target. Whether I’m behind the wheel or on the sidewalk next to one, I and my group were still thought of as inferior. Who I was and what I was protesting were seen as trivial and silly. (Once again, cue “Reputation” by Taylor Swift).
Though I’m sure the man driving by was not a member of the Iowa government (but who can say really), he represented the many Republicans who walk around on the hill everyday hoping to ban abortion and birth control, furthering their agenda of changing perceptions around abortion and making themselves out to be the squashers of evil.
Needless to say, these were the exact people we hoped to speak to on Lobby Day.
I hope you don’t think I let this really terrific start to my lobbying experience get in the way of my day. If someone chops off one of my heads, I’ll just grow another.
Not paying the cat-caller any more mind, we continued trudging to the Capitol. Cruel sentiments and harsh winds could not stop us.
When my assigned group representing Des Moines District 34 sat down to talk with Representative Ako Abdul Samad to discuss the bills he should support and which ones he should reject. He listened attentively, heard us speak with emotion and conviction and agreed with us that these bills were harmful. However, he also told us something that really resonated with me.
Though what we were doing this day was important work, he reminded us that it could not stop here. Lobby day is important, but so is every other day where there are bills that affect Iowans discussed on the House and Senate floors. The gallery overlooking your legislators isn’t just open on Lobby Day, it’s open every day.
There I was reminded of the cat-caller, or the dog-barker, who so comfortably addressed his opinion on our work only a few hours earlier, and I was reminded about the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling where frozen embryos were deemed the same as living children. I was reminded of the Iowa Supreme Court and their upcoming decision on the legality of Gov. Kim Reynolds six-week abortion ban. I was reminded of the “personhood” bills which will open doors for attacks on pregnant Iowans, the MOMS bill, which will give our tax dollars to crisis pregnancy centers to manipulate pregnant people, and the Baby Olivia Bill, where scientifically inaccurate fetal development videos will be required to be shown in schools – which has already passed the House.
So, you will see me at the Iowa Capitol even after Lobby Day, and I will see you from the gallery, and you, Iowa Republicans who support these bills in question that aim to hurt and dismiss Iowans, will see me staring down at you, furious.
