Updated Jun 28, 2024 - Health

Iowa Supreme Court rules that 6-week abortion ban may take effect

Linh Ta

Kim reynolds signs a bill — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that banned most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy on July 14, 2023 in Des Moines. The law was temporarily paused for nearly a year, but the state's highest court ruled Friday it may go into effect in July. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will take effect in three weeks.

Why it matters: The court ruled 4-3 to reverse a temporary injunction that had blocked the six-week ban's enforcement. The panel ordered a lower court "to dissolve the temporary injunction and continue with further proceedings."

Given Iowa law, the lower court must wait 20 days before implementing the Supreme Court's ruling, Drake University law professor Sally Frank tells Axios.

What they're saying: In the majority opinion, Justice Matthew McDermott wrote that "neither text nor history establishes abortion as a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution."

In a fiery dissent, Chief Justice Susan Christensen wrote the ruling "strips Iowa women of their bodily autonomy" and that its "rigid approach relies heavily on the male-dominated history and traditions of the 1800s."

Catch up quick: Iowa Republicans passed the "fetal heartbeat" law, banning most abortions at six weeks during a special one-day session last July.

There are exceptions for the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the patient.
Up until now, abortion in Iowa has been available until up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The big picture: In the ruling, the court also made a key decision about how future abortion laws can be vetted by Iowa's legal system.

It sided with the state, that looser standards should be applied, which will make future abortion rights challenges of any other restrictions difficult, Frank said.

What we're watching: The decision paves the way for the Legislature to consider a total abortion ban, which would more easily stand up in court now, per Frank.

However, other types of restrictions, such as banning travel for abortion procedures, could still be challenged on different grounds, she added.

Flashback: Republican lawmakers passed a similar law in 2018, but it was struck down after a district judge cited a past Iowa Supreme Court ruling that had declared abortions to be a state constitutional right.

Yes, but: This time around, the circumstances — and abortion protections — are completely different.

Roe v. Wade, which granted federal abortion protections, was overturned in 2022.
That same year, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed itself and ruled that abortions were not a guaranteed right under the state constitution.

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

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Iowa Supreme Court rules that 6-week abortion ban may take effect

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