Iowa strict abortion law It went into effect Monday, immediately banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, when many women don’t know they’re pregnant.
Iowa Republican leaders have been seeking legislation for years, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Roe v. Wade gained momentum after his dismissal of the case. The Iowa Supreme Court also ruled that year that the state had no constitutional right to abortion.
“There is no right more sacred than life,” Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in June. “I am pleased that the Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the will of the people of Iowa.”
now, inside the countryfour states ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and 14 states have almost complete bans at all stages of pregnancy.
Iowa abortion providers are fighting the new law but are still preparing for it, strengthening access to abortion in neighboring states and using lessons learned where bans went into effect earlier.
They said they would continue to operate in Iowa under the new law, but Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States, called it a “devastating and dark” moment in the state’s history.
The law was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in a special session last year, but was immediately appealed to the court By the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic. The law was in effect for several days before a district judge temporarily blocked it, according to a ruling that Gov. Kim Reynolds appealed to the state’s highest court.
Supreme Court of Iowa 4-3 decision in June reiterated that there was no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered that the arrest be overturned. Last week, a district court judge said the arrest would be lifted Monday morning.
The law prohibits abortions after heart activity is detected, which is around six weeks. There are limited exceptions where violence, consanguinity, fetal abnormality or maternal life are at risk. Previously, abortion was legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The state medical board has been established standards of practice for complying with the law earlier this year, although the rules do not spell out disciplinary action or how the board will determine non-compliance.
Three abortion clinics in two Iowa cities offer in-person abortion procedures and will continue to do so until cardiac activity is detected, according to Planned Parenthood and Emma Goldman.
Planned Parenthood’s Traxler said a law based on heart activity is “difficult.” Since six weeks is approximate, “we don’t plan to cut people off at a certain gestational age,” he said.
For more than a year, the region’s Planned Parenthood has also been making investments inside and outside of Iowa to prepare for the restrictions. As in other regions, it has dedicated staff to work the phones, find people appointments, contact other providers, organize travel plans or provide financial assistance.
It is also rebuilding its center in Omaha, Nebraska, across the state line and offering abortions with new drugs in Mankato. Minnesota, It’s about an hour’s drive from Iowa.
But providers fear that the drastic change in access will exacerbate health disparities for Iowa women of color and residents of low-income families.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the status of abortion has changed throughout the country. Trigger laws go into effect immediately, with states stopping them with new restrictions or expanding access and court battles.
In states with restrictions, basic abortion options are available pills via telehealth or underground networks and travelbroadly increases demand in states with greater access.