One of the nation’s strictest abortion laws will take effect in Iowa on Monday. Abortion care providers in Minnesota expect an increase in patients as another border state limits abortion access.

The Iowa law prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, when fetal cardiac activity can be detected but before many know they are pregnant. The only exceptions to the ban are in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the patient.

Previously, Iowa had permitted abortions until 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Last week, an Iowa district court judge lifted an injunction blocking the six-week abortion ban from going into effect.

Dozens of states instituted at least some restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion more than two years ago.

“When the Dobbs decision came down, many of the patients coming to Iowa were from Missouri,” said Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “This is going to have resounding impacts on the region itself, especially the Midwest and the South.”

Traxler added that the Iowa law will “further widen already gaping health inequities affecting the working class, Black people, people living in rural areas and young people.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2023, about 20 percent of patients served in Minnesota were from out-of-state.

In the past year, Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, an independently owned, nonprofit abortion clinic in Bloomington, served patients from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, said they expect to see an increase.

On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan toured the clinic and reiterated that Iowans seeking abortions are welcome in the state. “If you’re afraid, come to Minnesota, we’ve got you.”

Since 2023, Minnesota law includes constitutional protections for abortion and is one of the states that is most protective of access.

Not all are fond of the state’s approach.

Cathy Blaeser, the co-executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, said “Minnesotans are not looking to be the abortion mecca of the Midwest” and that MCCL is “encouraged to see Iowa’s increased protection for human beings in the womb, as well as increased protections for women.”

Of the states bordering Minnesota, only Wisconsin permits abortions up to 22 weeks. North Dakota has a near-total ban, as does South Dakota. In November, South Dakota voters will determine whether the state would be “prohibited from regulating a woman’s decision to have an abortion” in the first three months of pregnancy. The ballot measure would only allow abortion regulation from the second trimester forward, and only permit that regulation if it does not interfere with the health of the pregnant person.

Check back here each day till Aug. 11 to find out how the athletes with Minnesota ties did at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Saturday, July 27

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Canada opened its first Olympic tournament since 2000 with an 86-79 win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. Alexander was 0-for-5 from the field in 12:33.

Sarah Bacon, Gophers, diving: A five-time national diving champion at the U, Bacon won the first medal for Team USA in Paris, taking silver in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard event with Kassidy Cook.

Michael Boxall, Loons, men’s soccer: The 35-year-old defender is in his third Olympics for New Zealand, which lost to the United States 4-1 in a group play match. New Zealand and the U.S. are tied with three points in Group A with one game to play.

Peter Durben, St. Paul, shooting: A St. Paul native and a 1992 Olympian in the 50-meter rifle event, Durben is the rifle coach of the U.S. shooting team, which finished 13th.

Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: He had seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes for France in the host country’s 78-66 victory over Brazil.

Joe Ingles, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: The 36-year-old Ingles, who signed with the Wolves this month, played about two minutes and scored no points in Australia’s 92-80 win over Spain.

Ahead of tonight’s visit to St. Cloud of Republican nominees Donald Trump and JD Vance, hundreds of Democrats gathered Saturday morning in St. Paul to volunteer for Vice President Kamala Harris in her White House bid.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter were at the rally along with Gov. Tim Walz, who is reportedly on Harris’ short list of possible vice presidential running mates.

Walz said the joy of politics “all comes back to Minnesota.”

“I’m honored to be in this conversation but … those Democratic governors, everybody on that list is an incredible leader,” Walz said, voicing support for Harris. “There’s a reason that Minnesota has voted Democrat since 1972 for president, because we do the work. So what they’ve done is, they have awakened a sleeping giant, and this giant knows how to do the work.”

Those attending the event at the St. Paul Labor Center cheered and hoisted signs reading “Harris for President” and “Stop Trump.” After officials spoke, volunteers received training on how to door-knock and canvass neighborhoods for Harris. Campaign officials estimated the crowd at more than 300.

Carter said he expected that Democrats will carry Minnesota in the fall.

“What’s even more important than who your mayor is, what’s even more important than who your lieutenant governor and governor, and senator and Congress member is, is how [they] are all working together on your behalf,” Carter said. “We’re going to win Minnesota. We’re going to win this race.”

Their words come hours before Republican nominees Trump and Vance were scheduled to speak at a Saturday evening rally in St. Cloud. The event marks the ticket’s first joint appearance in Minnesota, and follows by two weeks the attempted assassination of Trump at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania.

The St. Cloud event will be held inside the 8,000-seat Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on the St. Cloud State University campus. Officials say Trump’s security remains a top priority.

Trump and Vance “will find in Minnesota that this is a state where we stand up for people, we stand up for our freedoms, and yes we stand up for labor,” Klobuchar said at the St. Paul rally. “This week has been about finding that light in the never-ending shade … that light is making sure that we put Kamala Harris in the White House.”

Staff writer Jenny Berg contributed to this report.

Correction:
An earlier version of this story should have said that campaign officials estimated the number of people at the rally at more than 300.