Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning Most Abortions After 6 Weeks

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state's stringent abortion law is valid, instructing a lower court to remove a brief bar on the law.

This decision permits Iowa to hinder most abortions after about six weeks of gestation, a time frame before many females are aware they are pregnant.

Iowa with Other States' Strict Abortion Laws

The 4-3 decision indicates a win for Republican lawmakers, aligning Iowa with over a dozen states that have legislated restrictive abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Presently, 14 states have almost complete restrictions on abortion at all levels of gestation, while three states prohibit miscarriages at around six weeks.

The Iowa Supreme Court's majority highlighted that there is no lawful right to miscarriages. Additionally, they directed courts to assess whether the government has a justifiable interest in restraining the measure, rather than evaluating the stress of those looking for abortion access.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds immediately released a declaration commemorating the ruling. She said she is pleased that the Iowa Supreme Court has supported the will of Iowa's citizens.

Chief Justice Susan Christensen strongly objected, stating that today, most of our court has divested Iowa females of their bodily autonomy by ruling that there is no basic right to stop a gestation under our state constitution. She cannot support this decision.

Iowa Law Permits Limited Exceptions to Six-Week Abortion Ban

The Iowa law allows for limited exceptions to the six-week abortion ban: cases of rape, if reported to law enforcement or a healthcare provider within 45 days; incest, if reported within 145 days; if the fetus has a fatal abnormality; or if the pregnancy endangers the patient's life. The state's medical board recently defined guidelines for doctors to comply with the law.

This ruling signals the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle over abortion restrictions in Iowa, which intensified in 2022 when both the Iowa Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decisions that had established a constitutional right to abortion.

The law was enacted solely by Republican lawmakers in a single-day special session last July. The next day, Planned Parenthood North Central States, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a legal challenge.

The law was briefly in effect before a district court judge paused it, a decision that Governor Reynolds appealed. During that period, Planned Parenthood North Central States extended their hours and made hundreds of phone calls to prepare patients amidst the uncertainty, rescheduling abortion appointments in other states.

Court documents indicated that Iowa clinics had several hundred abortion appointments scheduled over two weeks last July, most beyond the six-week pregnancy mark.

Since then, Planned Parenthood has ceased providing abortion services in two Iowa cities, including one in Des Moines. The remaining Des Moines location cannot currently serve abortion patients, so services are being provided about 36 miles (59 kilometers) north in Ames.

Before Friday's ruling, Planned Parenthood providers had been informing patients with upcoming appointments about the potential outcomes of the high court's decision.

Masie Stilwell, the director of public affairs, said in early June that this included the possibility that abortion might no longer be legal in their cases, and they would need to coordinate with staff to reschedule in other states.