Abortions are officially prohibited after six weeks of pregnancy in Iowa following a new ruling from a judge.
Iowa’s strict policy – known as the fetal Heartbeat Law – was passed in 2023 after facing challenges from pro-abortion advocates. Prior to the new law’s passage, abortion was banned in Iowa after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The state’s Supreme Court ruled in June that because the Iowa constitution does not grant the right to an abortion, a lower court’s decision to block the law from being enforced must be reversed. Justice Matthew McDermott wrote for the majority that the right to an abortion was “not rooted at all in our state’s history and tradition.”
“The state’s interest in protecting the unborn can be traced to Iowa’s earliest days,” he wrote, per AP News.
The restriction went into effect on July 29 at 8:00 a.m. Central time.
Pregnant women seeking abortions in Iowa are also required to wait 24 hours after going to an initial consultation.
“Abortion access has been sharply curbed in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade” in at least a dozen states, reports ABC News. “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.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the Supreme Curt’s decision and the enforcement of the abortion restriction.
“There is nothing more sacred and no cause more worthy than protecting innocent unborn lives,” she said in a statement.
“As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa,” Reynolds added. “I remain deeply committed to supporting women in planning for motherhood, promoting the importance of fatherhood, elevating adoption, and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF). Families are the foundation of society, and policies that encourage strong families will make our state and country strong for generations to come.”
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa encouraged its supporters to “fight for reproductive rights in Iowa” in the wake of the court ruling.
“The path forward to stop the attacks on vital health care is at the ballot box,” the group said in a July 26 post. “There, we can elect candidates to the state house who will vote to protect bodily autonomy and rebuild reproductive health care in Iowa. We need to hold our elected officials accountable for every vote they take that erodes our reproductive freedom and access to care.”
The Iowa abortion restriction was also condemned by Vice President Kamala Harris, who just began the second week of her presidential campaign.
“Today, Iowa's extreme abortion ban goes into effect, creating a health care crisis for women across the state,” she said in a post on X. “If extremist so-called leaders have their way, no woman in our nation will be safe from the government telling her what to do with her own body.”