Iowa Supreme Court preparing to hear a case in April. (file photo)
How would a decision from the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade impact Iowa law on abortion?
In 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Iowa women have a fundamental right to an abortion under the state constitution. It means that ruling would have to be overturned before any Iowa law could be enacted to restrict access to abortion.
That’s exactly what Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to do in 2022. Reynolds has appointed a majority of the justices on the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa court is due to soon rule whether a law can take effect that would ban abortions in Iowa after the sixth week of a pregnancy. Critics say that’s effectively a ban on all abortions, as few women know or have confirmed by week six that they’re pregnant.
In a tweet late this morning, Governor Reynolds said “the mission remains as clear as it has ever been — to defend the most important freedom there is: the right to life.”
Reynolds is among 11 Republican governors who filed a brief calling on the court to overturn Roe v Wade. “There’s never been a more important moment in the history of the pro-life movement,” Reynolds said during a speech at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event in April. “Decades of effort and prayers are paying off.”
Reynolds said states should decide abortion policy and “extend legal protection to the unborn.”
“It’s time for the courts in D.C. and Iowa alike to have the courage to say so,” Reynolds said. “It’s time to finally open this issue up to democratic debate so that we can protect life.”
The Republican Party of Iowa released a written statement this morning, saying the party is committed to “defending the unborn.”
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn, in a statement released last night, said the “majority of Iowans…believe abortion should be legal” and Iowans will have a chance this fall to elect candidates who will “write the protection of Roe into law at the state and federal level.”
Sarah Stoesz, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of North Central States, held an online news conference this morning. “Of course, we are furious at the possibility that abortion could become illegal in this country,” she said.
If the leaked draft of an opinion to overturn Roe v Wade is close to what’s issued by the Supreme Court next month, Stoesz said it will lead to a hodge podge of state laws on abortion — and state bans would only affect women in those states who can’t afford to travel to a state where abortion remains legal.
“And that is one of the true moral outrages of this situation,” Stoesz said.
Stoesz added that “elections matter” and Planned Parenthood is prepared for “the (political) fight ahead.”
{This post was updated at 1:20 p.m. with additional information.)