(Des Moines) A strict abortion law went into effect Monday in Iowa, now banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — a time when many women are unaware they are pregnant.
Iowa Republican leaders have been pushing for the law for years, and that call gained momentum after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The Iowa Supreme Court also ruled this year that there is 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.” Today, across the country, four states ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and 14 states ban them at nearly all stages of pregnancy.
Iowa’s law and other restrictions across the country will be debated in the 2024 elections, with Republicans celebrating their successes and Democrats criticizing them as an attack on women’s rights.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said reproductive rights are at stake in November.me Harris 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’m president of the United States, I’m going to sign into law measures that protect reproductive freedom.”
“Devastating” for some, “historic” for others
Iowa abortion providers are fighting the new law but continuing to prepare for it, expanding abortion access in neighboring states and learning lessons from states where bans took effect more quickly.
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 Iowa law passed the Republican-controlled Legislature in 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 just a few days before a district judge temporarily blocked it — a decision that Gov. Kim Reynolds challenged on appeal to the state’s highest court.
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision in June reiterated that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered the suspension lifted. A district court judge said last week that the suspension would be lifted Monday morning. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called it a “historic day for Iowa.”
The law prohibits abortions after cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks. There are limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or when the mother’s life is in danger. Previously, abortion in Iowa was legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Preparations for restrictions
Three abortion clinics in two Iowa cities are offering in-person abortion procedures and will continue to do so before cardiac activity is detected, according to Planned Parenthood representatives and Emma Goldman.
A law based on cardiac activity is “tricky,” said Dr. Traxler of Planned Parenthood. Since the six-week date is approximate, “we don’t necessarily intend to terminate people at a certain gestational age,” she said.
For more than a year, Planned Parenthood in the area has also been investing inside and outside Iowa to prepare for the restrictions. As in other regions, the organization has dedicated staff to work the phones, helping people find appointments, connect with other providers, arrange travel plans or financial assistance.
It is also renovating its center in Omaha, Nebraska, just across the border, and recently began offering medication abortion in Mankato, Minnesota, about an hour’s drive from Iowa.
But providers worry that this radical shift in access will exacerbate health inequities for Iowans of color and residents from low-income households.