Hunter
11/09/23
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Governor Kim Reynolds officially filed an appeal Wednesday with the state Supreme Court, after a District Court judge blocked enforcement of an anti-abortion law Governor Kim Reynolds enacted in July.
Abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. The law that Reynolds signed prohibits abortions once a “fetal heartbeat” is detected. Doctors would be required to first perform an abdominal ultrasound to detect embryonic or fetal cardiac activity.
The law would change the amount of time that women have to seek an abortion from 20 weeks post-fertilization to as little as six weeks — before many women know they are pregnant. Some exceptions would be allowed.
Planned Parenthood of Iowa argued in court that the law violates Iowan’s constitutional rights to due process and control over their own bodies. Doctors have also weighed in, saying the law would restrict their ability to provide necessary care during complications that may arise during pregnancy.
Attorney General Bird’s filing asks the Supreme Court to dissolve the District Court injunction, adding that there is no constitutional right to provide abortions.
Iowa Capitol Dispatch reports Iowa Democratic Senator Sarah Trone Garriott of West Des Moines said Wednesday’s legal filing and statements by Bird and Reynolds “show once again how extreme, anti-choice politicians are out of touch with the will of Iowa voters.”