DES MOINES, Iowa — On Monday, local advocates shared the impacts they have seen from Iowa's abortion law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Tuesday, October 29th marks three months since the law took effect after a yearlong court battle.
Planned Parenthood of North Central States (PPNCS) says its ability to give abortion care in the state is "severely limited" because of the law.
PPNCS says it has renovated clinics, hired more staff, expanded the number of locations where it provides medication abortion and trained new providers since Iowa's abortion law took effect.
"This near total abortion ban has changed the entire environment and culture of what we have been doing for years," said Alex Sharp, a Senior Health Center Manager for PPNCS.
One Iowa resident shared her story about her ectopic pregnancy. She found out about the complication at her six-week pregnancy mark, and she calls herself lucky.
"Three days later, my entire abdomen was full of blood, and I was having an ectopic pregnancy that had burst into my fallopian tube," said Chelsea Cooper, who shared her story at Monday's press conference. "The doctor was surprised that I was even still alive and standing at this point and immediately sent me to have emergency surgery, and at that day, I was six weeks pregnant."
The biggest burden advocates say they have seen is patients' need to travel out of state for services they can't get in Iowa.
Advocates say patients are now traveling to Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois for abortion care.
One patient navigator says she has helped nearly 750 patients receive support for an abortion in the past three months.
"The biggest fear is retaliation," said Kristina Remus, a Patient Services Associate for PPNCS. "People seeking abortion care feel ashamed and desperate. I recently worked with a patient who truly had nothing to contribute to their abortion care."
Local 5 reached out to the Governor's office for comment on this press conference, but has not heard back yet.