September 7, 2024
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has ruled the state's strict abortion law will take effect Monday, preventing most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
The law passed last year, but a judge had blocked it from being enforced. The Iowa Supreme Court reiterated in June that there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the state and ordered the hold to be lifted. That translated into Monday's district court judge's decision ordering the law to into effect next Monday at 8:00 a.m. Central time.
Lawyers representing abortion providers asked Judge Jeffrey Farrell for notice before allowing the law to take hold, saying a buffer period was needed to provide continuity of services. Iowa requires pregnant women to wait 24 hours for an abortion after getting an initial consultation. Abortion had been legal in the state up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The high court’s order gave a decisive win to Iowa’s Republican leaders after years of legislative and legal battles.
Iowa will join more than a dozen states where abortion access has been sharply curbed in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Currently, 14 states have near-total bans at all stages of pregnancy and three states — Iowa will make four — ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Iowa’s Legislature passed the law in a special session last July, and a legal challenge was immediately filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic. The law was in effect for just a few days before a district court judge temporarily blocked it.
“Today is a victory for life,” Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement Tuesday.
There are limited circumstances under the Iowa law that would allow for abortion after six weeks of pregnancy: rape, if reported to law enforcement or a health provider within 45 days; incest, if reported within 145 days; if the fetus has an abnormality “incompatible with life”; or if the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life.
The state’s medical board defined standards of practice earlier this year, though the rules do not outline how the board would determine noncompliance or what the appropriate disciplinary action might be.
In other states with bans that kick in around six weeks into pregnancy, the number of abortions has fallen by about half.
In its 4-3 opinion last month, the Iowa Supreme Court’s majority determined that abortion laws in Iowa are to be judged by whether the government has a legitimate interest in restricting the procedure, rather than whether there is too heavy a burden for people seeking abortion access.
The decision was celebrated by Iowa’s conservative leaders who have advocated for decades against access to abortion. Chuck Hurley, vice president of the conservative Christian organization, The Family Leader, said “bad judges for over 51 years” allowed access to abortion in Iowa.
While Hurley celebrated the victory and the “great strides in protecting the most innocent among us,” he alluded to the work still to be done.
“Fourteen states now protect babies from the moment of conception,” he said, “and Iowa should be the 15th.”
