Iowa Gov. Reynolds asks state Supreme Court to reinstate new abortion restrictions

DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday asked the Iowa Supreme Court to reinstate a new law that seeks to ban most abortions in the state, the governor’s office said.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed the appeal, her office said.

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Reynolds referred to Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin’s decision, issued Monday, to temporarily block the new law. Seidlin referred to a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling that suggested judicial review of abortion regulations in the state could eventually return to the Iowa Supreme Court.

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For now, abortion remains legal in Iowa until the 20th week of pregnancy.

“Judge Seidlin stated this week that the Iowa Supreme Court left off last month with an ‘invitation to litigate’ further the standard of review on abortion regulations. Invitation or not, I will never stop fighting to protect our unborn children and to uphold state laws enacted by our elected legislators,” Reynolds said in her statement.

The new law bans abortions once cardiac activity of the heart can be detected. Supporters of such policies say that is typically around the sixth week of pregnancy, often before individual is aware they are pregnant.

Iowa Republicans in 2018 passed a similar law that would have banned abortions once a heartbeat is detected. It was blocked by the courts and never took effect.

After rulings in 2022 from the Iowa Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court effectively eliminated a right to an abortion at both the state and federal levels, Reynolds asked the state courts to reinstate that 2018 law. In June, a split, 3-3 decision from the Iowa Supreme Court left the lower court’s ruling in place.

Last Friday, July 14, Reynolds signed into law the latest abortion restrictions, which were passed earlier that week by Republicans in a special session of the Iowa Legislature. Seidlin’s decision on Monday paused enforcement of that new law.

Abortion opponents believe that, in the wake of those 2022 Iowa and U.S. Supreme Court rulings, new abortion restrictions will receive a more favorable judicial review than previous attempts.

“The right to life is the most fundamental right of all. Today, we are taking our defense of Iowa’s heartbeat haw to the Iowa Supreme Court to allow the law to go back in effect and protect innocent lives,” Bird said in a statement. “I’m confident that the law is on our side, and we will continue fighting for the right to life in court.”

The new law is being challenged by the same groups that challenged the 2018 law: Planned Parenthood, the ACLU of Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic.

Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO Ruth Richardson criticized Reynolds’ decision to appeal the injunction and said in an emailed statement on Friday that the organization would continue to fight for abortion access.

“Make no mistake: despite this appeal, the temporary injunction against the six-week ban remains in effect. Abortion is legal in Iowa,” Richardson said. “We will continue to provide the compassionate abortion care that Iowans need and deserve as we await the next ruling.”

Official court documents for the appeal were not immediately available Friday afternoon when the governor’s and attorney general’s offices announced the appeal.

Caleb McCullough of the Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.

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