Iowa’s Republican-led legislature has enacted a new bill prohibiting the vast majority of abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy.
This comes just weeks after a deadlock in the Iowa Supreme Court that rendered a six-week abortion ban unenforceable.
On Tuesday, however, legislators reconvened at the Iowa State Capitol and successfully passed a nearly identical set of restrictions on the procedure. Republican governor Kim Reynolds plans to sign the bill into law on Friday, her office said.
“I believe the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time,” she said in a statement on Tuesday night.
“The Iowa Supreme Court questioned whether this legislature would pass the same law they did in 2018, and today they have a clear answer. The voices of Iowans and their democratically elected representatives cannot be ignored any longer, and justice for the unborn should not be delayed.”
Under the new Republican bill, abortions are permitted up until approximately six weeks of pregnancy – a timeframe that critics say could pass before many women are even aware of their pregnancies.
The legislation does incorporate exceptions beyond this point, such as in cases of rape or incest, when the woman’s life is at significant risk, when she faces the possibility of certain permanent injuries, or when there are foetal abnormalities deemed “incompatible with life”.
“Unborn people, in my opinion, are babies, and the government’s job is to protect the rights of every person, including babies,” Republican representative Brad Sherman said on the House floor.
The neighbouring Republican-led states of Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin have already implemented stringent abortion bans, effectively prohibiting the procedure in almost all cases. Additionally, Nebraska recently passed a new ban at the 12-week mark.
Illinois and Minnesota, which have Democratic leaderships, maintain permissive abortion laws and reports suggested these may emerge as potential destinations for Iowans seeking abortions.
“If this bill becomes law, women will die in Iowa. Common sense has walked out the door,” Democrat representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell told her colleagues on Tuesday night.
“The ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood, and the Emma Goldman Clinic remain committed to protecting the reproductive rights of Iowans to control their bodies and their lives, their health, and their safety – including filing a lawsuit to block this reckless, cruel law,” Mark Stringer, the executive director of ACLU’s Iowa chapter, said in a statement.
Protesters gathered ahead of the vote at the capitol in Des Moines on Tuesday, holding signs that read “My Body, My Choice” and “Unborn Lives Matter”.
