Iowa lawmakers move to advance 6-week abortion ban

The bill’s passage would set up another legal challenge, as abortion rights groups said they would fight the new law.

Republicans hold large majorities in both the state House and Senate, and Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) last week called members back for a marathon one-day special session with the sole intent of passing an abortion ban.

The legislation would prohibit abortion after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy. Currently, abortion is banned in Iowa after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The bill will take effect immediately when Reynolds signs it, further eroding abortion access across the Midwest where it is already limited.

Abortion is banned in almost all cases in the neighboring states of Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin, though the Wisconsin law is being challenged.

In a statement announcing the special session, Reynolds decried “the inhumanity of abortion” and said Iowa lawmakers “will not rest until the unborn are protected by law.”

“I believe the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time,” Reynolds said.

The legislation is almost identical to a 2018 ban, which never took effect.

That law also banned abortion after fetal cardiac activity, but a state judge ruled it was unconstitutional since Roe v. Wade was still in effect. The state did not appeal the decision.

After Roe was overturned last year, Reynolds tried to reinstate the law but was blocked by a district court judge. She appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which deadlocked 3-3, leaving the lower court’s decision in place.