The Iowa Supreme Court has made a decision to uphold the state’s abortion ban on Friday, which restricts most abortions in the state to as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
This ruling will have a significant impact on abortions in Iowa, where women were previously able to seek the procedure up to 22 weeks into their pregnancy while legal challenges were ongoing against the six-week ban.
Under the ban, physicians will be prohibited from providing most abortions after early cardiac activity can be detected in a fetus or embryo, typically at around six weeks into pregnancy. Exceptions are made for miscarriages, threats to the life of the pregnant woman, fetal abnormalities that could result in the death of the infant, as well as pregnancies resulting from rape or incest reported within specific time frames.
This case is part of the broader fallout surrounding the issue of abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in June 2022, allowing state governments to determine abortion rights. Several other bans in states like Utah, Ohio, and Wyoming are still being litigated, and the Supreme Court recently blocked the enforcement of Idaho’s strict abortion law.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, welcomed the ruling, stating that the state’s high court has “upheld the will of the people.”
On the other hand, reproductive rights groups expressed disappointment over the ruling, with Planned Parenthood calling it “manufactured chaos and confusion” that will have long-lasting health impacts.
The Emma Goldman Clinic, another petitioner in the case, warned that the ruling will have far-reaching consequences, leading to abortion clients in the Midwest having to travel longer distances and wait longer to access abortion care.
The Iowa abortion ban was passed in July 2023 during a special legislative session, facing immediate challenges from advocacy groups leading to a temporary block by a state district court.
Attorneys for the state argued that the Iowa constitution does not recognize a fundamental right to abortion, and therefore the ban only needs to have a “rational basis.”
With this ruling, Iowa now joins nearly two dozen other states that have banned or limited access to abortion, including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina which have similar six-week restrictions in place.
