The Supreme Court of the US state of Iowa ruled Friday to allow a law to go into effect that would ban most abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant. It is a victory for Republican lawmakers, and Iowa joins the ranks of states that have severely restricted or even banned abortion after the US Supreme Court struck down the federal abortion guarantee in 2022.
Democratic President Joe Biden has denounced an “extreme and dangerous abortion ban” that “puts women’s health and lives at risk.” “This should never happen in America,” he added, vowing to continue calling on Congress to restore federal abortion protections. The abortion issue is one of the key themes of the November presidential campaign, which will pit Republican Donald Trump against Joe Biden.
In a ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a court’s temporary injunction that blocked the law, passed last summer, from taking effect. The law prohibits most abortions once a heartbeat has been detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy.
Chief Justice Susan Christensen expressed strong opposition to the decision in a dissent. “The majority of our court deprives Iowa women of their bodily autonomy by holding that there is no fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy under our state constitution. I cannot accept this decision,” she wrote.
“The majority’s rigid approach relies heavily on the history and traditions of the male-dominated 1800s and ignores the progress women’s rights have made since the Civil War,” she said. Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed the decision. “There is no right more sacred than life, and nothing more deserving of our staunchest defense than the innocent unborn,” she said.
