Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Six-Week Abortion Ban

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban on Friday.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the law in July 2023 prohibiting abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. A district court blocked the law a few days after it had been signed, and the state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to reverse the order, according to the court document.

“We thus hold that Planned Parenthood is not entitled to a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the fetal heartbeat statute. We reverse the order granting the temporary injunction and remand the case for the district court to dissolve the temporary injunction and continue with further proceedings,” the decision reads.

The law bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, but lists exemptions in cases of rape, incest, medical emergency and fetal abnormalities that are determined to be “incompatible with life.”

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Chris Schandevel also praised the ruling, stating that “states have the strongest possible interest in protecting the most fundamental of our human rights: the right to life.”

“So we’re thrilled to join the people of Iowa in celebrating today’s decision by Iowa’s highest court,” he said, according to the press release.

Chief Justice Susan Christensen issued the dissenting opinion.

“Today, our court’s majority strips Iowa women of their bodily autonomy by holding that there is no fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy under our state constitution. I cannot stand by this decision,” she wrote.