Timeline: Twists and turns in Iowa’s abortion policy

May 5, 2017 — Abortion is banned after 20 weeks of pregnancy under a bill passed by statehouse Republicans and signed into law by Republican Gov. Terry Branstad. It includes a required three-day wait period between consultation with a physician and an abortion.

Oct. 24, 2017 — The Iowa Supreme Court orders a pause on the three-day wait period while the matter is considered by the courts.

May 4, 2018 — Abortion is banned after roughly six weeks of pregnancy under a bill passed by statehouse Republicans and signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

June 1, 2018 — A state court grants an injunction against the six-week abortion ban; the state appeals.

June 29, 2018 — The Iowa Supreme Court rules that the three-day wait period violates the Iowa Constitution. In its ruling, a court majority rules the constitution effectively guarantees the freedom for an individual to have an abortion.

Jan. 22, 2019 — A state judge rules the six-week abortion ban unconstitutional; Reynolds later announces she will not appeal the ruling, given the recent Iowa Supreme Court precedent.

June 29, 2020 — A woman is required to wait 24 hours between consultation with a physician and an abortion under a new law passed by statehouse Republicans and signed into law by Reynolds.

June 30, 2020 — A state court grants an injunction against the one-day wait period; the state appeals the ruling.

June 17, 2022 — In ruling on the one-day wait period, the Iowa Supreme Court overturns its own 2018 determination that abortions are an individual right under the state constitution.

June 24, 2022 — The U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v Wade decision, which had created a federal right to an abortion; the ruling gives states the freedom to enact their own abortion laws.

June 28, 2022 — Reynolds announces her intention to ask the state courts, under the new legal landscape created by the Iowa Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court rulings earlier that month, to reinstate the six-week abortion ban passed by the state in 2018.

June 16, 2023 — A split decision from the Iowa Supreme Court on the question of reinstating the 2018 six-week abortion ban leaves state abortion law status quo: banned at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

July 14, 2023 — Abortion is banned at roughly six weeks of pregnancy under a new law passed by statehouse Republicans during a special legislative session and signed into law by Reynolds.

July 17, 2023 — A state court grants an injunction against the new law; the state appeals the ruling.

Friday — Abortion will be banned at roughly six weeks of pregnancy after the Iowa Supreme Court orders the injunction against the abortion law must be dissolved.

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