Des Moines, IA — On Thursday, at least 150 Iowans impacted by the state’s growing cancer and water crisis rallied at the State Capitol Rotunda for the second year in a row against Bayer’s Cancer Gag Act. 89% of Iowa voters oppose the Cancer Gag Act, which would shield pesticide corporations from health-related lawsuits. It failed last session but is eligible for reconsideration in the House this year.

Iowa has some of the nation’s most polluted waterways, including the highest concentrations of cancer-linked nitrates. Iowa also has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation and is one of only two states with rising cancer rates.

Speakers held a vigil for the thousands of lives lost to cancer each year in Iowa, called on legislators to oppose the Cancer Gag Act, and highlighted solutions to the state’s industrial agriculture pollution crisis, including restoring statewide water quality monitoring. New polling finds that 79% of Iowa voters support the move.

Food & Water Watch Senior Iowa Organizer Michaelyn Mankel said:

“Iowans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Cancer rates are up and we are drinking some of the country’s most polluted water, and still Iowa legislators dare to contemplate passing a Cancer Gag Act. Bayer’s despicable effort to silence the sick cannot pass in Iowa. Our lawmakers must prioritize clean water solutions — not rollbacks. That means restoring funding for statewide water quality monitoring, and passing mandatory regulations on factory farm polluters.”

Iowa CCI Action member Amanda Winkelmann said: “My husband and I moved back to Iowa last year. We are trying to conceive and want to pass on the Midwest values we were raised on to our future children. When we chose to move here, we didn’t know about the water crisis affecting many Iowa communities. Testing our tap water shows nitrate levels above the EPA’s federal drinking water standard of 10 milligrams per liter. High nitrate levels, and long-term exposure even at lower levels, have been linked in scientific studies to health concerns including blue baby syndrome, certain birth defects, preterm birth, and some cancers. We’ve spent over $500 in the last year on clean drinking water because we’re worried about how our tap water could affect our health and the health of our future child. Buying clean water is not a long-term solution. We need our legislators to take meaningful action to protect Iowa’s drinking water.”

Bayer’s push to limit liability comes as the corporation has spent over $11 billion settling more than 100,000 cancer lawsuits related to their Roundup product, whose active ingredient glyphosate is under investigation as a possible carcinogen. Roundup is widely used in Iowa: In any given year, more than half the state is covered in the pesticide. In addition to seeking relief from liability from the Supreme Court, Bayer is pushing Cancer Gag Act language in several other states and Congress. Just last week, the U.S. House released a draft Farm Bill including related pesticide immunity language.