Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Mifepristone is one part of a two-drug regimen commonly used to terminate a pregnancy before 10 weeks and for miscarriage treatment. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 13 bills into law Tuesday — including several that could impact Iowans’ access to reproductive healthcare.
House File 2788, the final bill debated in the Iowa Senate during the 2026 legislative session, is a measure restricting access to abortion-inducing medications through telehealth and mail-order prescription services. She also signed legislation requiring parental consent for HPV vaccines for minors and a medical conscience law.
Republican gubernatorial candidates, from left, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, former state Rep. Brad Sherman, businessman Zach Lahn and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen faced off for a debate hosted by KCCI, which was broadcast May 19, 2026. (Screenshot via KCCI/Gray Media)
As Republicans running for Iowa governor took the stage for another debate, the candidates honed in on policy differences regarding issues like legal immigration and addressing Iowa’s high cancer rates.
Iowa’s high and growing cancer rate was one of the issues discussed as a top concern for candidates. While Reynolds and the GOP-controlled Legislature have taken steps to research the causes driving Iowa’s cancer rates higher than the national average and surrounding states, the candidates said they would take additional steps to address potential risk factors if elected.
An Iowa nonprofit that advocates for the rights of immigrants is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly violating federal public-records laws.
A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Iowa’s Grinnell College, alleging the school “secretly sells, shares and tracks” data collected from users of its website.
An EMT who worked for UnityPoint Health is suing the company, alleging she was the victim of workplace sexual harassment and sexual assault.
After voting no seven times, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., flipped and cast the deciding vote to advance a War Powers Resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran without authorization from Congress.
Republicans on a U.S. Senate panel suggested Tuesday a recent Supreme Court decision weakening the federal Voting Rights Act invalidated U.S. House districts in Democratic states where most residents belong to a racial minority group.
A coalition of Democratic attorneys general and governors sued the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday over forthcoming regulations that will impose new borrowing limits for students pursuing certain advanced degree programs.
The Congressional Black Caucus and NAACP on Tuesday urged pushback against GOP-led redistricting efforts in Southern states via college sports, including a boycott of public universities by athletes and supporters.
Lawmakers around the country are wrestling with whether clergy, sports coaches, talent agents, camp leaders and other professions with access to children should be mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect, Stateline reports.
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