Before Easter Sunday, Iowa had paid for sexual assault victims’ emergency contraceptives. Under the previous attorney general, Democrat Tom Miller, Iowa’s victim compensation fund also paid for Plan B, the so-called morning after pill, as well as other treatments to prevent pregnancy. Sandi Tibbetts Murphy, who served as director of the victim assistance division under Miller, said the longtime policy for Iowa has been to include the cost of emergency contraception in the expenses covered by the fund. She said that in rare cases, the fund paid for abortions for rape victims.

The U.S. plunged into uncertainty following conflicting court rulings on Friday over the legality of the abortion medication called Mifepristone. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ordered a hold on federal approval of Mifepristone. That decision came at the same time as U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice in Washington state, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, essentially ordered the opposite. The timing of competing orders was extraordinary. Nearly a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the high stakes of the drug clouded judgment surrounding abortions and healthcare. President Joe Biden said he would fight the Texas ruling.

**Photo Link**