DCCC - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

10/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/17/2024 10:54

“Nunn’s New Abortion Stance Doesn’t Match His Record”

Zach Nunn can't hide from his dangerous record that includes voting for a "nearly identical" version of Iowa's near-total abortion ban and supporting a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the woman's life.

While Lanon Baccam will protect women's rights and freedoms in Congress, Zach Nunn has spent his political career working to ban abortion.

DCCC Spokesperson Mallory Payne:
"Zach Nunn has one of the most dangerous anti-abortion records in Congress. He paved the way for Iowa's near-total abortion ban and now he wants to take his agenda nationwide. Iowans want a leader who will protect their rights and freedoms, which is why they'll elect Lanon Baccam in November."

Read more on Nunn's dangerous record below.

  • Iowa is under a near-total abortion ban, and Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam is trying to make it US Rep. Zach Nunn's signature issue.

  • "Women should have the ability to make a decision if, when, and how they start their own families," Baccam said.

  • In June, Senate Republicans-including US Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa-blocked legislation that would have offered federal protections for accessing contraception. And after House Democrats tried to force a vote on the act, Nunn stood with fellow Republicans preventing its consideration.

  • "He is not supportive of finding ways of making the Right to Contraception Act a reality," Baccam told reporters after the rally.

  • In 2018, then-state Rep. Zach Nunn supported a near-total abortion ban, regulating the procedure after six weeks. This "nearly identical" bill was eventually passed by the Iowa Legislature and is now in effect.

  • In 2019, he supported a bill that defined life as beginning at fertilization. The bill-which passed the Senate-increased the criminal penalty for intentionally or accidentally causing the death of an "unborn person," which under the bill was a fertilized egg. This language potentially opened up providers of in vitro fertilization treatment to liability over zygotes damaged in the lab.

  • In 2020, Nunn was part of an effort to amend the state Constitution that it could "not be construed to recognize, grant, or secure a right to abortion."

  • In 2022, Nunn ran for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District seat, and during a WHO-TV debate, he and other Republican candidates were asked if "All abortions, no exceptions, should be illegal?" Nunn's hand was up.