There’s a new abortion ban in the Hawkeye State. It prohibits the procedure once fetal heartbeat is detected, which is often around the six-week mark. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law Friday, July 14. It took effect immediately, but a lawsuit by the ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States, and the Emma Goldman Clinic could mean an early demise. Gov. Reynolds calls the new law “the will of the people,” but will it survive judicial review?
From Roe to No!
For the half-century of Roe v. Wade, abortion was legal even in the most restrictive states up until viability, or the point after which a fetus could survive outside the womb. In 1973, when Roe was decided, that was considered to be 28 weeks. Over the years, as medical technology advanced, the exact definition of viability changed. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling, “viability” was defined as 24 weeks in five states, 22 weeks in 15 states, 20 weeks in Mississippi, and 25 weeks in Virginia. In another 20 states, it was left up to the abortion provider to determine. Six states and the District of Columbia had no restrictions at all.
Iowa fell in the 22-week category, and while over a dozen other red states passed strict abortion bans immediately or soon after the fall of Roe the Hawkeye State remained at 22 weeks until this July. In Iowa’s general assembly, Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly two-to-one in both chambers. With a 64-36 GOP majority in the Iowa House of Representatives and 34-16 in the Iowa Senate, the most surprising fact about the new law is how long it took after the Dobbs decision to land on Gov. Reynold’s desk.
And End to Abortion?
The new abortion ban means no pregnancy can be terminated without a qualifying reason once a fetal heartbeat is detected – which could be as early as six weeks. There are exception clauses for rape (if it was reported within 45 days), incest (if reported within 140 days), any fetal anomalies considered by a physician to be “incompatible with life,” and to preserve the life of the mother.
The bill cleared the House 56-34 and the Senate 32-17 on Tuesday, July 11, during a special legislative session called by Gov. Reynolds specifically for this purpose. The pro-choice groups filed suit a day later, and the first hearing in the case was held on Friday, the very day the law was signed. Judge Joseph Seidlin said during the hearing that it would be “insulting” to both sides for him to “flippantly” rule from the bench on blocking the new ban, but that he would “do his best” to have a ruling by end of day Monday.
This means, of course, that the abortion moratorium will remain in effect over the weekend, at the very least, even if it is eventually struck down – an outcome that seems unlikely, considering it was Gov. Reynolds who appointed Judge Seidlin in 2018.
According to statistics provided by Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic:
“Although most abortion patients get an abortion as soon as they are able, nearly 92% of the abortions (Planned Parenthood of the Heartland) provided in Iowa during the first half of 2023 – and 99% of the ones (Emma Goldman Clinic) provided between October 2022 and May 2023 – took place after six weeks (measured from the last menstrual period).”
The Guttmacher Institute – a pro-abortion organization closely tied to Planned Parenthood – reported that there were 3,760 abortions in the state in 2017. Iowa Department of Public Health reported 3,761 abortions in 2021, down about 7% from the 4,058 in 2020. Eliminating between 92% and 99% of those would have left a range of 35 to 325 or so in any given year. That isn’t a complete end to abortion, of course – nor does it account for terminated pregnancies past the six-week point required to save the mother – but it still would have meant thousands of babies not killed off before birth.
A Progressive Heart Attack Over Iowa’s Heartbeat Bill
As of Wednesday, 200 women were scheduled to have abortions over the next two weeks at Iowa Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic. According to court filings, most of these pregnancies have detected fetal heartbeats. One Planned Parenthood clinic stayed open until 9:30 p.m. Thursday night to terminate as many pregnancies as possible before the law could be signed and immediately take effect.
“Patients’ lives are deeply impacted every day that this law is allowed to stand,” Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO and President Ruth Richardson told reporters. “Iowans will be harmed as they’ve lost the right to control their bodies and futures.”
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Other protesters implied lives would be lost due to the new law – a rather ironic take on an abortion ban that stops the killing of unborn children while making exceptions for actual life-saving procedures in cases where the pregnant woman’s life might be in danger. “Abortion is normal, safe, lifesaving health care,” said Connie Ryan, the executive director of the nonprofit Iowa Interfaith Alliance.
The ACLU and abortion providers argue that the law violates the inalienable rights of Iowans, as well as their rights to due process and equal protection under the Iowa Constitution. Banning most abortions in the state, they claim, singles out abortion from other “medical procedures” and discriminates against women based on their sex.
“When the act goes into effect, it will prohibit the vast majority of Iowans from accessing abortion,” the lawsuit read. “The ban will irreparably harm petitioners and their patients, and there is no adequate legal remedy.” Perhaps Monday will reveal whether Judge Seidlin agrees. The fate of abortion in the state – and the lives of thousands to come – hang in the balance.
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