Due to an odd wrinkle in Iowa's abortion law, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is not applying for state funding to pay for the procedure. The system has swallowed the cost on the 15 or so publicly-funded abortions it has performed so far in 2014, according to the Associated Press. That's partly because new state laws require Gov. Terry Branstad to sign off on any Medicaid payments for abortions. A University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics spokesperson said the system decided to absorb the $27,500 cost to date to avoid the political ramifications of applying for the reimbursement. Under federal guidelines, states must pay for abortions of Medicaid enrollees in the case of rape, incest and to save the mother's life. Iowa law also allows for such payments in the case of some fetal deformities. Article