Pro-choice activists hold signs outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The court's conservative wing to offers a menu of opportunities exploit its 6-3 majority, and give Republicans the type of payoff they envisioned when they pushed through her Senate confirmation just before the 2020 election. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A ban on nearly all abortions after six weeks, approved last year, has now taken effect in Iowa. The law immediately prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a time when few women know they are pregnant.
Iowa’s Republican-controlled legislature approved the ban last year, but it was blocked after its passage before the state’s supreme court upholding the law this past month. The Republican leaders in Iowa have been pushing for this moment for years, gaining traction for their efforts after the overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.
That same year, the Iowa State Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that the state’s constitution did not contain an individual’s right to an abortion.
Iowa now joins three other states, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, in banning abortions after six weeks, or when the fetus has recorded cardiac activity. Fourteen other states gave almost total restrictions on abortion, at any stage in the pregnancy.
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Prior to this ruling, which took effect on Monday, abortions were allowed in Iowa through the 20th week of pregnancy.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said, “There is no right more sacred than life. Glad that the Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the will of the people of Iowa.”
Many in Iowa may be forced to find care within the neighboring states, Illinois and Minnesota, contributing to added pressure on their healthcare systems. Both Illinois and Minnesota have taken steps to either maintain or further abortion access following the decision in 2022.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, (D) took to the social media platform X, calling the decision by Iowa “disturbing.” “Here in Illinois, we will welcome our Iowan neighbors for reproductive freedom and whatever care they need,” he wrote in his post.
Restrictions on abortion are anticipated to be a focal point of the 2024 presidential election.
Vice President Kamala Harris, has expressed her support for reproductive rights. In a campaign video, Harris said, “When I am President of the United States, I will sign into law the protections for reproductive freedom.”
The vice president also wrote on X, “This morning, more than 1.5 million women in Iowa woke up with fewer rights than they had last night because of another Trump Abortion Ban.”
Following the repeal of Roe v. Wade, 22 states have enacted some kind of restriction on abortion access, affecting over one in three women.
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