In New Post-Dobbs Milestone, Iowa Becomes 15th State to Ban Abortion
In "another devastating blow for the Midwest," the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Iowa can soon impose its six-week abortion ban.
Photo: Getty Images AbortionPolitics
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state can impose its six-week abortion ban, and subsequently, become the 15th state in the nation to enact a total or near-total abortion ban since 2022. The 4-3 state Supreme Court ruling comes roughly one year after Iowa Republicans rushed the ban through a one-day special session, only to have it paused in court until this week. The ruling also blocks a lower court’s previous determination that the abortion ban was unconstitutional. This is because, the state Supreme Court reasoned, there is no more constitutional right to abortion—not since the Supreme Court killed Roe v. Wade.
Iowa’s ban offers some exceptions under limited, cruel conditions. The law allows abortion services for rape victims who report their rape to law enforcement within 45 days (even as rape is very rarely reported to police), as well as incest if it’s reported within 145 days, or if the fetus has an abnormality incompatible with life, or the pregnancy endangers the patient’s life. There’s no date set yet for the law to take effect, and abortion will remain legal, for now, as the case returns to the district court for further proceedings. This will take at least 21 days, per the Iowa Capital Dispatch.