Update 7/23/24: On Monday, the Iowa Supreme Court denied Planned Parenthood’s of Heartland’s request that it rehear a case against the state’s law protecting preborn children from abortion once their heartbeat is detectable.
On Tuesday, Iowa District Judge Jeffrey Farrel said in an order that the injunction against the law will be lifted at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 29, allowing the law to take effect. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed the law in 2023, praised Farrel’s order saying “today is a victory for life.”
“As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I remain deeply committed to supporting women in planning for motherhood, promoting the importance of fatherhood, elevating adoption, and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF). Families are the foundation of society, and policies that encourage strong families will make our state and country strong for generations to come.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart opposed the law and vowed to work to elect more pro-abortion legislators to get “more common-sense legislation coming out of this state.”
7/18/24: The ACLU of Iowa is making a final, last-minute attempt to block a pro-life law from taking effect in the state.
The pro-abortion group has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear a case against a law that will protect preborn children from abortion once their heartbeat is detectable, usually at about six weeks. The law includes exceptions for children conceived in rape or incest, for children who receive a prenatal diagnosis that could cause death, and for medical emergencies. Induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is not medically necessary
The ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood, and the Emma Goldman Clinic (a facility offering abortions up to 19 weeks, 6 days) challenged the law when it was approved in 2023. While a district court sided with the pro-abortion groups and blocked the law, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on June 28 that the law is constitutional. The state Supreme Court gave the lower court 21 days to dissolve the injunction and allow the law to take effect. The 21 days ends on Friday, July 19th.
“On rehearing, this Court should hold that the Iowa Constitution protects a fundamental right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right to make decisions about one’s pregnancy, that undue burden is the appropriate standard, and that the Ban is therefore unconstitutional,” the ACLU of Iowa wrote.
A preborn child’s heart begins to beat by around day 22 after fertilization, even before it has formed four chambers.
Legal expert Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University, told The Gazette that it is rare for the court to grant a request to rehear a case. As the pro-abortion group awaits a decision from the court, a district court judge has scheduled a meeting with the attorneys from both the ACLU of Iowa and the State for Friday afternoon.
