Iowa abortion advocates raise alarm on nationwide anti-abortion efforts

A new abortion ban in Texas will likely inspire similar restrictions in Iowa, state abortion advocates say.

One of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans went into effect in Texas on Wednesday after a midnight deadline for the U.S. Supreme Court to stop it passed without action from the justices.

The Texas law bans the procedure at about six weeks after conception, often before many women know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.

In addition, the law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps another individual obtain an abortion, including those who provide financial assistance or give a woman a ride to a clinic.

The law also comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a case out of Mississippi that directly challenges Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court case that protects a woman’s right to an abortion. The justices will likely issue a ruling by June 2022.

Jamie Burch Elliott, public affairs director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, said they anticipate one potential ruling from the court could give states more power to determine abortion policy.

Given Republican efforts to amend Iowa’s Constitution and other legislation in recent years to restrict abortion or undermine abortion providers, obtaining abortions may not be an option for Iowans in the near future, Burch Elliott said.

“This isn't hyperbole anymore. This is happening,” she said during a news conference. “That is what we’re facing at the national level, and it will definitely translate to policy change in Iowa in the near future.”

At the end of the 2020 session, Iowa legislators passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would state the Iowa Constitution does not preserve the right to an abortion.

Lawmakers would need to pass another proposal with identical language in 2023 or 2024 before the measure could appear on Iowa voters' ballots, likely in the 2024 general election. If approved, the language would be added to the Iowa Constitution.

Abortion advocates say if the amendment passes, state lawmakers will be “unchecked” when it comes to implementing abortion restrictions in Iowa. That’s especially true if Roe v. Wade is overturned or weakened.

“If we put that in the hands of the current administration and the lawmakers that are currently under the dome here in Iowa, then the future of abortion is pretty bleak,” Burch Elliott said.

Other GOP-led states have introduced similar restrictions on abortions as part of an effort to challenge Roe v. Wade. Though none have yet succeeded in overturning the ruling, the laws have limited access to health care, said Lyz Lenz, an Iowa-based writer and former Gazette columnist.

“Each of these laws, even if they aren’t successful, every single law chips away at access at reproductive health care,” Lenz said. “Planned Parenthood clinics close and do not reopen. Funding is funneled elsewhere.”

Already, Iowans face major challenges when it comes to accessing reproductive health care, Lenz said.

Several counties in Iowa are reproductive health deserts, where women can’t access birth control or other women’s health services. In addition, two-thirds of Iowa’s counties no longer have a hospital with an obstetrics unit to deliver babies, she said.

“Reproductive care is already eroded,” Lenz said.

Iowa law currently bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republican-controlled Statehouse have passed a number of laws in recent years attempting to limit abortion access in Iowa, including introducing waiting periods for patients obtaining the procedure and cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

In 2018, Iowa passed a “fetal heartbeat” law similar to the ban that went into effect in Texas this week. At the time, it was one of the country’s most restrictive laws, but a state judge ruled it was unconstitutional so it did not go into effect.

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The Washington Post contributed to this article.