Iowa on Monday began enforcing a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, Reuters reports. The state has become the 22nd in the nation to implement broad restrictions on terminating pregnancies since the US Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in 2022.
The legislation prohibits abortions before many women are even aware of their pregnancies, while allowing exceptions for cases involving rape, medical emergencies, and fatal fetal anomalies. The enforcement follows a ruling by Iowa's state Supreme Court last month against a challenge by Planned Parenthood to halt the law.
The law, passed during a special legislative session in 2023, came after the state Supreme Court failed to reinstate a separate 2018 abortion ban. Iowa's Republican-majority legislature pushed through the new restrictions, rejecting efforts by Democrats to broaden the law's exceptions, including a proposal to permit abortions for pregnant children aged 12 or younger.
"This law represents a significant shift in Iowa's approach to reproductive rights," said Lyz Lenz, co-chair of the Iowa Abortion Access Fund. Vice President Kamala Harris 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." She vowed to stop the bans in November if she were to win the presidential election.
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.
In November, we will stop Trump's extreme abortion bans at the ballot box. pic.twitter.com/nE5HOT0avN
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 29, 2024
Maggie DeWitte, executive director of the Iowa-based organization Pulse Life Advocates, which opposes abortion, said, "We believe this law will protect the sanctity of life." DeWitte added that her group would continue to support pregnant women through various outreach programs.
