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Iowa political leaders reflect on first anniversary of law banning most abortions
In the year since Iowa’s law changed, the rate of abortions in Iowa has declined by more than half, but Iowas traveling for services elsewhere has increased
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DES MOINES — One year after an Iowa law banning most abortions in the state went into effect, Republicans are celebrating the legislation’s impact, while Democrats warn the restrictions will continue to limit reproductive health care across the state.
Tuesday marked one year since a new state law banning abortions once an embryo's cardiac activity can be detected — typically around six weeks, often before the parent is aware of the pregnancy — went into effect.
The law was passed by statehouse Republicans and, after multiple rounds of legislation and litigation, went into effect on July 29, 2024.
In the year since, the rate of abortions in Iowa has declined by more than half, according to state data, while the number of Iowa women traveling to neighboring states to seek abortions has in some cases as much as doubled, according to clinics and advocacy organizations.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds noted the one-year mark of the new state law by highlighting the reduction in abortions in Iowa over the past year and the state programs established to help new Iowa mothers.
“This is a powerful victory for life, and it’s all because Iowans and their representatives stood strong for the rights of the unborn,” Reynolds said in her statement, also noting that statehouse Republicans passed the legislation twice, in 2018 and again in 2023.
“Iowa’s commitment to mothers and their babies, before and after birth, is stronger than ever,” Reynolds said, noting state programs that support crisis pregnancy centers, postpartum care for mothers on Medicaid, paid parental leave for state employees and funding for rural maternal health centers and Medicaid reimbursement for complex pregnancies.
“This is what it means to be comprehensively pro-life — surrounding everyone involved in a pregnancy with love and support, promoting strong families, and intentionally building a culture of life,” Reynolds said.
Meanwhile, Iowa Democratic leaders rebuked the new state law during an Iowa Democratic Party press call Tuesday morning, arguing that it further restricts Iowans’ bodily autonomy and access to reproductive health care.
“Despite strong opposition from the public, Republican lawmakers in this state have proven time and again that there is no step too far, no proposal too extreme in their pursuit to exert total control over women's bodies,” Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, of Iowa City, said during the press call. “As Democrats, it is our firm and unwavering belief that Iowans have the right to make their own health care decisions free from government intrusion or interference.”
House Minority Leader Brian Meyer of Des Moines expressed concern about the legal and privacy implications of the law, adding that he believes the law places politics between the decisions of patients and their health care providers.
“There should only be two people in that doctor's office making decisions, and that is the woman and the doctor. Under this bill, unfortunately, now we have inserted others,” Meyer said. “We have inserted Republican politicians and the lawyers for the hospital.”
Emily Boevers, an OB-GYN at Waverly Health Center in northwest Iowa, said in its first year, the new law created more health care barriers for Iowans, hindered the ability of healthcare facilities to recruit OB-GYNs and has created uncertainty among physicians who fear retribution from the law for performing abortions in order to save the life of a patient.
According to an Iowa Department of Health and Human Services report published early this year, the number of OB-GYNs in Iowa has decreased by 4.1% from 2019 to 2023. Iowa had the nation’s worst ratio of obstetrics and gynecologist specialists per population before the new restrictions were passed into law.
“This law does not eliminate abortion as an act, as a need or as a choice,” Boevers said. “It simply punishes Iowa's women for making personal health and family choices by forcing them to confront barriers, costs and arbitrary timelines, it diminishes their own lived experience and bodily expertise to the ongoing detriment of our families and communities.”
Last election, national and state Democrats campaigned heavily on abortion rights and drew connections between access to reproductive health care and Iowa’s new law in a post-Roe v. Wade landscape as a way to mobilize voters. The party ended up losing seats both statewide and across the country.
But Weiner said the party will continue to talk to voters about the issue in the run-up to 2026, adding that abortion restrictions are closely tied to the Medicaid spending reductions in the recently passed federal budget reconciliation, which she says is a top issue on voters’ minds.
“When our federal representatives and senators in Washington vote to roll back Medicaid coverage, which is going to have an even further impact on rural hospitals, on nursing homes, but also ultimately on our urban hospitals, that has an impact on everyone in this state and their ability to access care,” Weiner said. “That really started with abortion bans, because when it seems like it's okay to take away one right, one way to access medical care, suddenly that opens the door.”
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