During the hour-long hearing in Des Moines, judges on Iowa’s highest court questioned each side’s attorneys about how the state’s past rulings on abortion – which have in recent years restricted abortion protections – apply to the current law. They questioned whether the case should be sent back to district court for further argument and review.
“All of the judges on this court have recognized that the state plays an essential role in protecting unborn life. The Legislature and the Governor agree,” Solicitor General Eric Wessan said in his opening statement. He urged the seven judges, all Republican appointees, to rule so that the six-week ban could be enforced.
For now, abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. The law, if upheld, would limit the procedure to a period when many women do not yet know they are pregnant. There are limited exceptions for rape and incest or if the woman’s life is in danger.
This latest legal battle comes at the end of a wave of nationwide abortion developments that could have major implications for the November presidential election.
On April 1, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution did not protect the right to abortion, paving the way for one of the nation’s strictest bans to go into effect on April 1. may. This week, the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated an 1864 law that bans the procedure. except to save a mother’s life – and punishes providers with prison time. The two states account for more than 95,000 abortions annually, according to the data.
Democrats, certain that abortion is a winning issue for them, see a surge in political energy that they hope could put both states on the line in their favor this fall. Florida voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution; a similar initiative also appears to be headed to the ballot in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump released a video this week saying he believes abortion access should be left to the states – disappointing Republican Party conservatives who were hoping their presumptive presidential nominee would push for of a federal ban.
A key factor in the outcome of the Iowa case will likely be how much protection the state constitution gives the right to abortion, said Todd Pettys, a law professor at the University of California. ‘Iowa – unless the court agrees with the state’s argument that abortion providers lack standing. sue on behalf of “pregnant women”.
In 2022, the court overturned an earlier ruling in favor of abortion rights after finding that there was no basis in the Iowa Constitution for “a strongly protected right to abortion,” a noted Pettys. At the same time, the Court said it should not choose sides in a divisive political battle.
But the justices allowed a stricter legal test for abortion restrictions, which Wessan argued Thursday should be abandoned in favor of a less stringent standard that would allow the government to do what it wants. Peter Im, an attorney for Planned Parenthood, said the district court ruled correctly and the injunction should stand.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a staunch abortion supporter, called the Legislature into special session last summer to pass the six-week ban. Although she called the ban “the will of the people,” a majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most cases. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released last year found that 61 percent of residents think it should be legal in most or all cases, with 35 percent opposed.
Advocates for Planned Parenthood of Iowa and other groups held a “rally for reproductive rights” ahead of oral arguments Thursday, describing the case in an article on body and rights of Iowans.”
The district court judge who ruled against the six-month ban still allowed the rulemaking process on the new law to move forward. Rules subsequently adopted by the Iowa Board of Medicine were criticized for being too vague and lacking specificity on when doctors can legally intervene to save a pregnant patient’s life or how providers who violate the new law would be sanctioned.
“There is nothing in Iowa law or regulation that would avoid what we have seen in the rest of the country, with women almost dying or dying because the law is not clear,” said Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University. an interview this week. “There are the same issues as these other regulations and laws, particularly with women having a wanted pregnancy and facing complications.”
Since Roe v. Wade fell in 2022, voters across the country have consistently supported abortion access at the ballot box, even in conservative states like Kansas and Ohio. In addition to Florida, the question is already on the ballot in Maryland and New York, and citizen campaigns are underway in Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri and Arizona.
In 2020, the Iowa Legislature passed the first round of a proposal to amend the state constitution to clarify that it “does not recognize, grant, or guarantee the right to abortion.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa warned that lawmakers could still pass a final measure this year that would lead to a vote in November.
washingtonpost
