Abortion in Iowa

Abortion in Iowa is illegal after detection of embryonic cardiac-cell activity.[1][2][3] Embryonic cardiac-cell activity can be detected from around six weeks after the pregnant individual's last menstrual period, when many people are not yet aware that they are pregnant.[3][4][5] Exceptions for the abortion ban after detected embryonic cardiac-cell activity include some instances of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and threats to the pregnant individual's life.[6][7]

Prior to 2024, abortion was legal up to 22 weeks in Iowa. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which enabled states to ban abortion.[8] In the aftermath of the decision, Republican lawmakers in Iowa enacted a six-week abortion ban in July 2023, which was blocked within days, then later unblocked in July 2024 with the approval of the Iowa Supreme Court.[8][9]

Over recent decades, the number of abortion clinics in Iowa has generally decreased, and state legislators have regularly introduced bills to severely restrict abortion. Public opinion in Iowa remains about evenly split on whether abortion should be legal.

In 2017, Iowa rejected millions of dollars in federal funding for Medicaid as part of their efforts to try to defund Planned Parenthood and its abortion services in the state. In 2020, it was reported that abortions in Iowa went up for the first time in decades—25 percent—with the loss of that federal aid attributed to the increase.[10]

In 2018, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Jill Meadows, M.D., and Emma Goldman Clinic (petitioners) filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in state court, arguing the early abortion ban violated the Iowa State Constitution. Courts supported their injunction request, saying the law violated the state's constitution.[11] A #StoptheBans protest occurred at the Statehouse in Des Moines on May 21, 2019.

  1. ^ Iowa General Assembly. "HF732". LegiScan. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Clayworth, Jason (July 29, 2024). "Iowa's abortion ban, one of the nation's strictest, takes effect". Axios. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Akin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gruber was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference six was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Morris, William (2024). "6-week abortion ban can take effect, Iowa Supreme Court rules, ending injunction". The Des Moines Register.
  7. ^ "US abortion: Iowa's top court upholds six-week abortion ban law". BBC News. 2024.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Mitch (June 28, 2024). "Iowa Supreme Court Allows Six-Week Abortion Ban to Take Effect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ramm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Des Moines Register". The Des Moines Register.
  11. ^ "Judge declares Iowa fetal heartbeat law unconstitutional". Associated Press. January 23, 2019.