6-week abortion ban takes effect in Iowa

(CN) — Iowa enacted its new "fetal heartbeat" law on Monday, banning most abortions after the very early stages of pregnancy.

The law makes some narrow exceptions for pregnancies from incest or rape, if the mother's life is in danger or if the fetus has a fatal condition; otherwise, it prohibits abortions in healthy pregnancies once a fetal heartbeat is detected. This can occur as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, often before the mother knows they're pregnant.

Republican state lawmakers have sought an abortion ban since 2018, but state-level legal challenges and federal protections have blunted their efforts. In June 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 over a lower court's decision to block the 2018 bill and decided to leave the block in place. This led to a special legislative session last July convened solely to pass a new abortion ban.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed that ban into law only days after lawmakers passed it. The new ban also faced a challenge in state court from Planned Parenthood, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in its favor late last month. Last Tuesday, the high court further declined Planned Parenthood's motion for a rehearing.

Republican state leaders celebrated the abortion ban taking effect. Iowa Representative Shannon Lundgren, a floor manager for the bill, called it "great news" when the state supreme court declined Planned Parenthood's rehearing motion.

Governor Kim Reynolds praised the high state court's decision in her own statement last week.

“Today is a victory for life. There is nothing more sacred and no cause more worthy than protecting innocent unborn lives," Reynolds said. "As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa."

Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights advocates meanwhile lamented that the ban would make it harder for Iowans to access abortion care.

"The decision by the Iowa Supreme Court to reverse the injunction and reject the subsequent petition to rehear the case is not surprising, but it is devastating, nonetheless," Iowa City's Emma Goldman Clinic said in a prepared statement Monday. "This law will have a ripple effect beyond Iowa, as abortion clients throughout the Midwest will be displaced and forced to travel greater distances and wait longer in order to obtain abortion care."

Iowa is now one of 21 states with some form of early-term abortion ban in place, including 14 states with even stricter, near-total bans.  

Reflecting the national split occurring over abortion, neighboring Illinois strengthened its abortion access on Monday. Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law the state's "birth equity" bill, which requires insurance providers in Illinois to provide coverage for abortion care.

The bill also expands required coverage for birth and postpartum care. It explicitly mandates insurance providers cover the cost of breast pumps, some mental health and drug rehabilitation services, and "all services ... that are rendered by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives, including home births, home visits, and support during labor, abortion or miscarriage."

The legislation is intended to improve family planning and maternal health outcomes for historically marginalized communities, particularly among low-income Black women. During a press conference commemorating the signing of the bill, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton acknowledge the disparity between Illinois and Iowa's abortion access laws.

"I have to acknowledge how darkly ironic it is that we celebrate Illinois' work to empower women as our neighbors to the west woke up this morning with even fewer rights than they had last night," Stratton said.

The sentiment was repeated Monday by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has made abortion access one of the central focuses of her nascent presidential campaign.

"Extremists aren’t stopping with Iowa. They want to pass a national abortion ban," the vice president said Monday on social media.

Travel to Illinois for abortion care has risen sharply since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. It is surrounded by states with abortion restrictions in place, including the near-total bans in Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky. The New York Times in an investigation published earlier this month estimated over 37,000 abortion patients traveled to Illinois in 2023, more than any other state in the country.

Pritzker on Monday welcomed travel to the state for abortions, deeming Illinois a haven for access.

"For our friends in Iowa, Illinois is and will always be a safe haven for anyone seeking an abortion," the governor said on social media.

Follow @djbyrnes1

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