Iowa’s highly contested six-week abortion ban went into effect Monday morning, delivering a much sought-after victory for Republicans and another blow to abortion access in America.
Passed last year, the new law allows women to get abortions up until about six weeks of pregnancy, a point at which many women aren’t yet aware they are pregnant.
Iowa’s highly contested six-week abortion ban went into effect Monday morning, delivering a much sought-after victory for Republicans and another blow to abortion access in America.
Passed last year, the new law allows women to get abortions up until about six weeks of pregnancy, a point at which many women aren’t yet aware they are pregnant.
Now with less than 100 days until the November election and both campaigns shining an intense spotlight on the issue, bans like Iowa’s will almost certainly be under the microscope.
Here’s what you need to know about it and what the campaigns are saying.
What Exactly Does the Ban Say?
State Republicans passed the controversial law last year during a special session. It was later signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The law allows women to get the medical procedure up until there is a “detectable fetal heartbeat,” a term highly disputed by medical groups. It includes exceptions for rape and incest, as long as rape survivors tell the police or a health provider within 45 days and incest survivors do the same within 140 days.
It also includes exceptions for when fetal abnormalities “incompatible with life” are present and when the life of the mother is at risk or if she faces a risk of permanent injuries.
The state’s medical board laid out standards of practice for following the new law earlier this year but it is unclear how doctors who don’t follow it would be prosecuted. If doctors want to perform an abortion without risking punishment, the state’s Board of Medicine requires them to document the circumstances surrounding the exception in detail and judge the patient’s credibility.
Before the passing of the law, abortions in the state were legal up until 20 weeks of pregnancy.
How Did Iowa Get Here?
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican state lawmakers in the state saw an opportunity to get a long-awaited abortion ban pushed through the legislature.
After the ban was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in July 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic filed a legal challenge immediately. The law had been in effect for just days before it was blocked temporarily by a district judge.
Gov. Reynolds appealed the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, which ruled 4-3 last month that there was no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered the block on the ban to be lifted. It was announced last week that it would go into effect on July 29.
Reynolds welcomed the news that it would take effect on Monday, calling it a “victory for life,” adding that there is “nothing more sacred and no cause more worthy than protecting innocent unborn lives.”
While fighting the law, medical providers in the state were simultaneously preparing for the potential new reality, rallying support for access in neighboring states while drawing on lessons learned from states that enacted bans more quickly.
Sarah Traxler, Planned Parenthood North Central States’ chief medical officer, said the organization will continue to operate in the state and comply with the law but called it a “devastating and dark” moment in the state’s history.
Abortion Takes Central Stage In November Election
In the wake of the Dobbs ruling, abortion has become one of the biggest issues for both parties. While Republicans quickly moved to repeal protections given at the state level, Democrats quickly mobilized to shore up support in states where it was safe and codify it in ones it wasn’t.
The issue has since proven to be a boon for Democrats, helping to stave off a projected “red wave” during the 2022 midterm elections. And polls continue to show voters trust Democrats more on the issue. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll from 2023 found that 61% of adults in Iowa believed the practice should be legal in most or all cases and 35% believed it should be illegal.
During her time in the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris became one of the most high-profile Democrats to confront the erosion of abortion rights. Now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, she has doubled down on the issue and has made it the main focus for her new campaign.
On Monday, her campaign launched the Fight for Reproductive Freedom Week of Action, which will include reproductive rights events hosted by high-profile party members and activists in battleground states.
“What this means is that 1 in 3 women of reproductive age in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban,” Harris said in a video calling out former President Donald Trump for enabling Iowa’s new ban.
Trump has waffled on his stance on abortion, changing his tune and now no longer backing a national ban of the practice. However, his pick for vice president, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, opposes abortion, even in the case of rape or incest..
