Governor Reynolds. (photo from Governor’s office)
Governor Kim Reynolds is calling the state legislature back into special session next Tuesday to pass abortion restrictions.
A statement from the governor’s office does not indicate what the governor wants to see in a bill, but with Republicans holding 34 of 50 seats in the Senate and 64 of 100 seats in the House, Reynolds said Iowans have “voted for lawmakers willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn.”
The statement does mention the so-called heartbeat law she approved in 2018 to ban most abortions after fetal activity can be detected, around the sixth week of a pregnancy. Reynolds blasted the Iowa Supreme Court’s 3-3 ruling last month that kept in place an injuction blocking that law. Reynolds said the Iowa Supreme Court has “disregarded the will of Iowa voters” and Iowa lawmakers “will continue the fight against the inhumanity of abortion.”
Maggie DeWitte of Pulse Life Advocates is calling on the legislature to pass that 2018 law again. “We cannot wait any longer for restrictions against this barbaric practice to be put in place,” DeWitte said late last month during a March for Life rally at the State Capitol. “The time to act is now.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart issued a written statement Wednesday afternoon, saying abortion bans are “wildly unpopular” and voters will have a chance to “remind their legislators who they work for” in 2024. “We know that Iowans are sick and tired of Republican politicians inserting themselves into deeply personal healthcare decisions,” Hart said during a news conference marking the one year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v Wade.
The governor’s proclamation calls for the legislature to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. next Tuesday.