DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa strict abortion legislation The law went into effect Monday and immediately bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
Iowa’s Republican leaders have been pushing for the law for years, gaining momentum after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The Iowa Supreme Court also ruled that year saying there was no constitutional right to abortion in the state.
“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, through the whole countryFour states ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and fourteen states have near-total bans at all stages of pregnancy.
The Iowa law and other restrictions across the country will take center stage in the 2024 elections, with Republicans celebrating their successes and Democrats criticizing them as an attack on women’s rights. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is about to become the Democratic presidential candidate, said this reproductive rights are at stake this November.
The Harris campaign released a video Monday to draw attention to the issue as the Iowa law becomes enforceable.
“What we need to do is vote,” she said. “When I am President of the United States, I will sign into law protections for reproductive freedom.”
Iowa’s abortion providers have been, too fighting the new law, but still preparing for itby promoting access to abortion in neighboring countries and building on lessons learned as bans came into effect more quickly.
They have said they will continue to operate in Iowa in accordance with the new law, but Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, called it a “devastating and dark” moment in the state’s history.
The Iowa law was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature during a special session last year, but… 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 only a few days before a district judge temporarily blocked it. Gov. Kim Reynolds appealed to the state Supreme Court.
The Iowa Supreme Court 4-3 ruling in June reiterated that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered the clampdown lifted. A court judge said last week that the seizure would be lifted Monday morning.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called it a “historic day for Iowa.”
The law bans abortions after heart activity can be detected, which is about six weeks. There are limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or when the mother’s life is in danger. Previously, abortion was legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks’ gestation.
The state medical board has defined this standards of practice for complying with the law earlier this year, although the rules do not spell out disciplinary action or how the board would determine noncompliance.
Three abortion clinics in two Iowa cities are offering in-person abortion procedures and will continue to do so before heart activity is detected, according to representatives from Planned Parenthood and Emma Goldman.
A law based on heart activity is “difficult,” says Planned Parenthood’s Traxler. Because six weeks is an approximation, “we don’t necessarily have plans to cut people off after a certain gestational age,” she said.
For more than a year, area Planned Parenthood has also been making investments inside and outside Iowa to prepare for the restrictions. As in other regions, it has dedicated staff who work the phones, help people find appointments, connect with other providers, arrange travel plans or provide financial assistance.
The company is also renovating its center in Omaha, Nebraska, just across the state line, and recently offered medication abortion in Mankato. Minnesota, about an hour’s drive from Iowa.
But providers fear the drastic change in access will increase health inequities for Iowa women of color and residents of low-income households.
Across the country, the status of abortion has continued to shift since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with trigger laws taking effect immediately, states passing new restrictions or expansions of access, and lawsuits putting them on hold to tow.
In states with restrictions, the main abortion options are available pills via telehealth or underground networks And travelingenormous increase demand in states with more access.