Iowa's abortion ban, one of the nation's strictest, takes effect
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One of the strictest abortion bans in the nation came into force in Iowa on Monday.
Why it matters: Most abortions are now prohibited after about six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the patient.
- Until now, abortion in Iowa has been available until up to about 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Driving the news: Iowa joins states including Florida, South Carolina and Georgia in banning abortion when cardiac activity is detected in an embryo.
- With Iowa, 18 states in total have laws banning nearly all abortions after about six weeks gestation.
Catch up quick: Last month, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed a temporary injunction blocking the most recently passed law. Last week, it denied Planned Parenthood of the Heartland's petition for rehearing its case.
- A district court judge ruled that the current injunction blocking the law would lift at 8am Monday.
State of play: Planned Parenthood has increased abortion capabilities in surrounding states, including Nebraska and Minnesota, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.
What they're saying: Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a statement calling the latest decision "a victory for life," saying she remains committed to supporting women in planning for motherhood.
The other side: "Women will die" because of the new law, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, told the Dispatch.
- "We know that Iowans will now face unjust and, for some, impossible obstacles in getting abortion care," Rita Bettis Austen, legal director for the ACLU of Iowa, said in a news conference last month.
Zoom in: The earliest most women know they're pregnant is at four weeks, giving little time to consider options and schedule appointments, Sonia Suter, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, tells Axios.
- "That's why these are effectively like abortion bans," Suter says.
Flashback: Iowa Republicans passed a similar "fetal heartbeat" law in 2018, but it was struck down by a district court judge who cited a past state supreme court ruling that had declared abortion a state constitutional right.
Yes, but: The legal landscape changed after Roe v. Wade, which granted federal abortion protections, was overturned in 2022.
- Reynolds called a special one-day legislative session in July 2023 during which her party once again passed a "fetal heartbeat" law.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a quote from Sonia Suter, and to reflect that the ban came into effect on Monday morning.
