Hunter
05/08/20
A state law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from getting federal money to provide sex education to Iowa youth has been ruled unconstitutional by a state judge.
Judge Paul Scott of the Fifth Judicial District says the act violated Planned Parenthood’s right to equal protection under the law. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the measure, passed in 2019 by the Iowa House and Senate, kept federal dollars that support sex education to young people from any state organization that provides or promotes abortion.
Both Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the ACLU of Iowa challenged the law, and a temporary injuction was issued by a district court to keep the measure from going into effect on July 1 while awaiting a ruling.
The Gazette says that Planned Parenthood has provided sex education to students in 31 schools and 12 community-based youth organizations in Iowa using state-approved curriculum since 2005.
