DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa's Attorney General Brenna Bird released a report Friday, May 31, after a year-and-a-half-long audit into the state's victim services. The victim assistance program helps take care of victims after a crime.
During the audit, the attorney general's office froze reimbursement for emergency contraception and abortions for sexual assault victims. Those services are not paid for using taxpayer dollars but instead come out of the Crime Victim Compensation Fund. That's funded through fines and penalties paid by offenders.
According to the report, payments to providers for emergency contraceptives given to sexual assault victims will resume, but only in cases where the medication prevents ovulation, and not if it prevents the implantation of an embryo. It also won't pay for abortions.
The report says Iowans don't want to fund abortions with public money, but Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, disagrees.
"One of the things I want to point out is Iowans overwhelmingly support women's reproductive freedom and rights," James said, "and especially in the case of rape or incest."
A 2023 Des Moines Register poll shows 61% of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Another concern — delayed reimbursements for medical providers.
"Medical providers have done a brilliant job of working with these individuals," James said. "So then delaying reimbursements back to these providers is a real slap in the face. Not only to the providers, but to the victims."
During a press conference, Bird said the office will reimburse all pending claims for emergency contraceptives. She said there are about 400 cases waiting for reimbursement.
The report didn't just focus on reproductive care. It also identified ways to improve victim services. Those include creating a system to alert victims of protective orders, improving pay for sexual assault examination nurses, offering compensation to fiancées of homicide victims and seeking additional federal funding.
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