Iowa’s six-week abortion ban went into effect July 29 after a district court judge lifted the injunction preventing its enforcement.
The legislation, signed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as the Heartbeat Bill in July 2023, bans almost all abortions after six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and danger to the life of the mother.
Before July 29, abortion procedures were permitted within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In a press release from Gov. Kim Reynolds ahead of July 29, she praised the decision to remove the injunction on the law.
“I’m glad that the Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the will of the people of Iowa,” Reynolds said.
On June 28, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision to overturn a lower court’s blocking of the bill, allowing for the enforcement to take place. The ruling came after a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic, which are both healthcare providers that perform abortions, challenged the bill, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Mazie Stilwell, the director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood North Central States, shared how the bill has affected operations at the facility. Stilwell says they have seen a “tremendous amount of manufactured chaos and confusion,” since the injunction was lifted.
“We know that that is the intention of abortion bans to… make it more difficult for patients to access the time-sensitive health care that they need,” Stilwell said. “But we also know, and have seen with the implementation of this really dangerous ban in Iowa, that abortion bans do not impact everyone the same.”
Stilwell also said some people are disproportionately affected by the ban, including people of color and rural Iowans who are not within reach of appropriate resources.
Stilwell says Planned Parenthood “continues to provide abortion care in Iowa to the extent that the law allows.”
Keira Slezak, a sophomore in marketing at Iowa State, said she feels the bill is “not what the people want.”
“I think most people don’t even know they’re pregnant at six weeks,” Slezak said. “You would have only missed your period by like one week… so I think it’s just unsuitable.”
According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, 52% of Iowans believe that abortion should be legal without most or all restrictions currently in place.
Garland Dahlke, a research scientist and the adviser for the Students for Life chapter at Iowa State, spoke about the organization’s opinion on the bill.
“Murder’s always bad, so it’s a good thing if you can save a life,” Dahlke said.
Dahlke also said he encourages students who are seeking out information about pro-life resources to visit Iowa Right to Life and Pulse Life Advocates.
In a press release from Iowa House Speaker, Pat Grassley, he called Iowa a “pro-life and pro-family state.”
“In Iowa, we respect both the life of the unborn child and the life of the mother,” Grassley said.
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, 22 states have enacted similar laws restricting abortion rights.