Iowa's Republican-led Legislature approved an approximately six-week ban on nearly all abortions in the state late Tuesday during a 14-hour special session, the Associated Press reports. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement she plans to sign the bill into law on Friday, which will then take effect immediately.The bill, passed with exclusively Republican support, was met with tense objections from Democratic lawmakers and abortion advocates protesting in the chamber.
"The Iowa Supreme Court questioned whether this legislature would pass the same law they did in 2018, and today they have a clear answer," Reynolds said in a statement. "The voices of Iowans and their democratically elected representatives cannot be ignored any longer, and justice for the unborn should not be delayed."
Abortion is currently legal up to 20 weeks in Iowa. The bill would prohibit most abortions once signs of cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before most people know they are pregnant. It excludes abortions sought due to rape, if reported to law enforcement or a health provider within 45 days; incest, if reported within 145 days; the fetus having an abnormality "incompatible with life;" or the pregnancy endangering the life of the pregnant person. The ACLU of Iowa Executive Director Mark Stringer said in a statement that the organization, Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic have already begun preparations to challenge the bill, once signed, in court.
