New abortion restrictions poised to go into effect as Iowa Supreme Court denies rehearing

DES MOINES — New restrictions on abortions in Iowa are poised to go into effect this week after the Iowa Supreme Court denied a request Monday to rehear the case.

Once it goes into effect, the state law will ban most abortions after cardiac activity can be detected — at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, which often is before a woman is aware of the pregnancy. The law includes some exceptions for rape, incest, life or health of the mother or a fetal abnormality judged by a doctor to be incompatible with life.

The Iowa Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision on June 28 ruled the law constitutional. Plaintiffs in the case — Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the ACLU of Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic — on July 11 requested the court rehear the case in a last-ditch legal attempt to block the law’s implementation.

The state Supreme Court responded Monday, denying the request.

“After consideration by this court, the petition for rehearing in the above-captioned case is hereby overruled and denied,” says the brief response, which was signed by Chief Justice Susan Christensen. She was one of the three justices who voted in the minority June 28 against upholding the law.

Also Monday, the Iowa Supreme Court ordered the lower District Court to dissolve an injunction that has blocked the new restrictions from going into place. Once a judge does that, the law will go into effect.

On Friday, District Court Judge Jeffrey Farrell in a meeting with attorneys on both sides of the case said he would allow for a buffer of two to three business days between receiving the Iowa Supreme Court’s order and lifting the injunction. Plaintiffs had made the request so that health care providers and patients could receive notice before the new restrictions go into effect.

That means the new restrictions likely go into effect this week. The Gazette was unable to reach the court for clarification on precisely when the injunction would be lifted.

Planned Parenthood North Central States, the ACLU of Iowa and Emma Goldman Clinic issued a joint statement Monday saying they are “devastated” that the Iowa Supreme Court rejected their request for a rehearing.

“This will push abortion care almost entirely out of reach in Iowa. Iowans should be free to make their own decisions about their own lives, bodies, and futures without interference from politicians or judges — they know what is best for them,” the joint statement said. “Planned Parenthood and Emma Goldman Clinic will continue to provide care in accordance with the law and help our patients receive the care they need. We will keep fighting to ensure every Iowan has access to the sexual and reproductive health care they deserve.”

Neither the Iowa Attorney General’s Office nor Gov. Kim Reynolds made a public statement after Monday’s response from the state Supreme Court.

For decades, abortion had been legal in Iowa up to viability, or roughly 24 to 26 weeks of pregnancy. In 2017, statehouse Republicans and then-Gov. Terry Branstad passed a law making abortions in Iowa illegal after roughly the 20th week of pregnancy.

In 2018, statehouse Republicans and Reynolds passed another bill restricting abortions, this time at the moment cardiac activity could be detected. The law immediately was challenged in courts and was halted, and remained so through years of legal challenges.

In 2023, deploying a rare special session of the Iowa Legislature, statehouse Republicans and Reynolds again passed a law banning abortions once cardiac activity can be detected. That law also was immediately challenged in and halted by the courts.

But this time, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the law constitutional June 28 and ordered the lower court to remove the injunction and allow the law to go into effect.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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