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Reynolds will interview Iowa Supreme Court nominees in late July

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Governor Kim Reynolds will interviewed the three women who’ve been nominated for an opening on the Iowa Supreme Court on July 27. The state Judicial Nominating Commission submitted the three candidates to the governor last week, to replace a justice who is retiring in September.

“I do a personal interview with each individual and have an opportunity to get to know them and I want somebody that’s going to follow and uphold the law,” Reynolds told reporters today. “That’s what I’m looking for.”

The Iowa Supreme Court is likely to decide whether the state’s new law that bans most abortions is constitutional. The governor was asked today if the issue is a consideration as she decides which woman to place on the court.

“Is the abortion issue going to be a factor?” a reporter asked.

Reynolds replied: “I want somebody that will follow the law and will revere the constitution.”

Reynolds did not indicate which of the three candidates she has interviewed. The three nominees are District Court Judge Susan Christensen of Harlan; Terri Combs, an attorney from West Des Moines and District Court Judge Kellyann Lekar of Waterloo.

Two women have previously served on the state’s highest court, but all seven justices on the court today are men. Iowa’s is the only state supreme court in the country that’s made up entirely of men. The new justice Reynolds appoints will have her name placed on the Iowa ballot in what’s called a retention election, but unlike the federal government, the Iowa Senate has no role in confirming judges.

(This post was updated at 2:53 p.m. after the governor’s office reported the governor misspoke this morning when she indicated she’s talked with one candidate and had two interviews left. One of the candidates was interviewed for a previous court opening by then-Governor Terry Branstad and Reynolds, who was lieutenant governor at the time.)

Planned Parenthood endorses Fred Hubbell for governor

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Fred Hubbell

The Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa political action committee has formally endorsed Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor.

“Since the 2016 elections, the Iowa legislature and Governor Reynolds have been on a rampage against out health, against reproductive rights and against our freedoms,” Erin Davison-Rippey, state executive director of the PAC, said during a midday news conference. “Here in Iowa and across the nation, 2016 was a wake-up call for many of us that elections matter and elections have consequences.”

Former Planned Parenthood of the Heartland president Jill June first met Hubbell 33 years ago when he served on the organization’s board of directors in the 1980s.

“Our backs are against the wall here in Iowa,” June said during the event. “We have lost on so many fronts, it’s hard to describe them all. Women’s reproductive rights have been trampled.”

Hubbell has pledged to restore state funding to Planned Parenthood. He said the organization provides “vital services” to Iowans “not just for women but also for men and people in the LGBT community all across our state, from education to STD testing, cancer screenings, family planning services — Planned Parenthood does all those things, often in underserved communities and making it available to people who can’t afford to pay.”

Hubbell told reporters the biggest problem Iowa faces is lack of affordable, accessible health care, including mental health services and drug treatment as well as reproductive health care.

Pat Garrett, a campaign spokesman for Reynolds, said the governor is “100% pro-life and believes we should do everything we can to protect the unborn.”

Opposing sides react to Iowa Supreme Court’s abortion decision

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Planned Parenthood of the Heartland CEO Suzanna DeBaca

The opposing sides in the abortion debate here in Iowa are offering predictably opposing views on the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling today that nullified a three-day waiting period for abortions.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds issued a written statement, saying it is not “unreasonable to require 72 hours for someone to weigh their options.” Fred Hubbell, her Democratic opponent, called the ruling “appropriate.” Planned Parenthood of the Heartland CEO Suzanna DeBaca spoke this afternoon at a news conference organized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

“Today’s ruling is a victory and an immense relief for every Iowan who has ever needed access to a safe and legal abortion,” she said, “and for the health care providers who offer that compassionate care.”

AUDIO of news conference, 17:20

Chuck Hurley, chief legal counsel for The Family Leader — a Christian conservative group, held a news conference this afternoon outside the Iowa Supreme Court building.

“I am shocked that five out of seven of our Iowa Supreme Court judges can read the Iowa Constitution,” Hurley said, “…and then read in an imagined right to kill babies.”

AUDIO of Hurley’s news conference, 10:30

The Family Leader’s Chuck Hurley

Hurley indicated abortion foes will argue today’s ruling is grounds for asking the federal courts to decide whether Iowa’s new law that bans nearly all abortions is constitutional.

“This makes the heartbeat bill, the heartbeat law and the heartbeat litigation even more important because Americans, not just Iowans, have seen ultrasound. We know what’s going on,” Hurley said. “We can hear the heartbeat.”

Rita Bettis Austen, the legal counsel for the ACLU of Iowa, said their lawsuit challenging the state’s new six week abortion ban is based on how the state constitution’s written, not the U.S. Constitution, so it can’t be moved to federal court.

The importance of today’s ruling on the three-day waiting period cannot be overstated, according to Bettis Austen.

“This is a tremendous civil rights victory, women’s rights victory, constitutional rights victory,” Bettis Austen said. “…The court was incredibly strong in recognizing the fundamental nature of this right to a safe and legal abortion in Iowa.”

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady was the author of today’s opinion. Cady wrote that “autonomy and dominion over one’s body go at the very heart of what it means to be free.” Hurley, the legal counsel for The Family Leader, argued Cady ignored another freedom, the freedom to be born.

Hubbell endorsed by NARAL, calls today’s court ruling ‘appropriate’

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Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor, says the Iowa Supreme Court made an “appropriate” decision today in overturning a three-day waiting period for abortions in Iowa.

“The court recognizes that Iowa women under Iowa laws have a right to accessible health care,” Hubbell said. “That’s very important because we’ve seen this governor and this legislature reduce access to health care.”

The National Abortion Rights Action League held a news conference at the Iowa capitol today to publicly endorse Hubbell. Hubbell said abortion restrictions passed by the Republican-led legislature and approved by Republican Governors Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds are “extreme” and taking Iowa backwards.

“It’s been very clear almost every place I go that people are frustrated and upset about the lack of access to health care,” Hubbell said. “And it’s not just women, but the privatization of Medicaid has cost tens of thousands of Iowans to have benefits denied or reduced. The University of Iowa dental program today said it’s not going to take Medicaid patients anymore because that program is such a failure. Mental health has not gotten any funding and improvement.”

The president of the National Abortion Rights Action League calls Hubbell a “champion” and “passionate supporter” of reproductive freedom.

 

Iowan on Trump’s US Supreme Court list rebukes Iowa court colleagues

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The Iowa Supreme Court justice who’s on President Trump’s list of potential nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court has written a stinging dissent to today’s ruling that overturned the state’s three-day waiting period for abortions.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Edward Mansfield wrote that abortion is “one of the most divisive issues in America today” — and “each side” in the debate is “motivated by a legitimate concern.” In his dissent, Mansfield said the state has waiting periods before divorces, adoptions and marriages are final and the legislature has the right to impose a waiting period before an abortion. Mansfield said the five justices who joined the majority opinion exhibited an “undertone of moral criticism for abortion opponents” in their ruling.

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote the majority opinion. Cady said women in Iowa “face significant obstacles” to abortion already. Cady also said “dominion over one’s body” is at “the very heart of what it means to be free.”

Iowa Supreme Court overturns three-day wait for abortions

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The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a three-day waiting period for women seeking an abortion is unconstitutional.

The waiting period was part of a state law passed last year that bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. The 20-week-ban part of the law took effect in May of 2017. Republican lawmakers argued requiring a woman to wait three days after her initial appointment for an abortion gave her time to consider all options and medical risks.

“In making this decision,” Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote, “we recognize the continuing debate in society over abortion and acknowledge the right of government to reasonably regulate the constitutional right of women to terminate a pregnancy. In carefully considering the case, we conclude the statute enacted by our legislature, while intended as a reasonable regulation, violates both the due process and equal protection clauses of the Iowa Constitution because its restrictions on women are not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest of the State.”

This ruling overturning the three-day waiting period aligns with the court’s 2015 decision on so-called “telemedicine” abortion. Three years ago, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned Iowa Board of Medicine regulations that required a doctor to conduct a physical exam before a medication-induced abortion.

The state law passed this year that bans nearly all abortions was put on hold until all court challenges are completed. Abortion opponents are hoping President Trump will appoint a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court who will side with the four conservatives already there and overturn Roe v Wade. That’s the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that legalized abortion in the country.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland officials have scheduled a news conference this afternoon to discuss today’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

Groups seeks to block abortion ban exceptions for rape, incest

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A group that opposes abortions for pregnant women who’ve been raped is asking Iowa courts to block the limited exceptions allowed under Iowa’s new ban on most abortions.

Iowa’s new “fetal heartbeat” law is on hold until a different legal challenge is settled that argues the abortion ban is too limited. A group called Save The 1 says the new law is too broad and does not protect children conceived in rape.

The group is asking the court to preserve the central focus of the new law and ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat may be detected, but then strike down exceptions for cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormality. Save The 1 argues those exceptions send the message that children conceived by rape or incest “are worth less” than others.

Iowa party platforms speak to key policies on guns, abortion

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The proposed platforms that Iowa Democrats and Republicans will be asked to approve at their state conventions this Saturday illustrate the stark contrast between the parties on major issues.

Delegates at the Iowa Republican Party’s state convention this Saturday will be asked to ratify a party platform that calls for banning all abortions in Iowa, “without exceptions.” Republican lawmakers enacted the toughest abortion law in the country this year, but that ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected — about the sixth week of pregnancy — includes exceptions for rape and incest.

Iowa Democrats have a proposed platform which declares the party’s opposition to that law as well as its support of Roe v Wade, the court decision that legalized abortion. The Democratic Party’s platform also calls for restoring government funding to Planned Parenthood.

When it comes to the gun issue, the Iowa Democratic Party’s platform calls for an “updated” assault weapons ban that would include limits on how many bullets may be in the magazine inserted in the gun. The Republican platform outlines GOP opposition to new gun restrictions and calls for letting “authorized personnel” who’ve undergone training carry guns in Iowa schools.

As it did in 2016, the Iowa GOP’s platform calls for an end to public sector unions. The Democratic Party’s document calls for restoring the bargaining rights of government workers that Republican lawmakers erased in 2017.

Iowa Democrats added a line to their proposed platform spelling out their opposition to “presidential self-pardons.” The Iowa GOP’s platform says all agreements with foreign countries “should be done by treaty and subject to approval by congress” — a relevant section given President Trump’s meeting tomorrow with North Korea’s leader.

State convention delegates in both parties are likely to debate some items in each proposed document.

Iowa Libertarians held their state convention last Saturday. Libertarians nominated Lynne Gentry Rockwell City as their lieutenant governor running mate. In 2014, she ran for a seat in the Iowa legislature and got 21 percent of the vote in the district that covers Pocahontas, Humboldt and Calhoun Counties.

Judge temporarily blocks new abortion law

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A Polk County judge issued an injunction to Iowa’s new abortion law in a court hearing this morning,

Lawyers for both sides agreed to the injunction temporarily blocking the implementation of the law during the short hearing. Planned Parenthood, the ACLU of Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic requested the injunction while their lawsuit seeking to overturn the law makes its way through the courts. The law which bans abortions when a heartbeat can be detected was scheduled to take effect July first.

The lawyer representing the state says he agreed to put the law on hold because they’ll be able to argue the “merits of the case” sooner. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU sued Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Board of Medicine — saying the law violates the Iowa Constitution.

ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis says her team is satisfied since the state didn’t argue against the injunction.

“At the end of the day, that resolves the uncertainty so women in Iowa don’t have to live with the burden of that uncertainty of knowing whether or not they’ll have abortion rights come July first,” Bettis says. It could take several months for the courts to make a final decision about the constitutionality of the law.

(Katarina Sostoric of Iowa Public Radio also contributed to this story)

Chicago law firm tabbed to represent state in abortion law challenge

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State leaders have approved hiring the Chicago-based Thomas More Society law firm to represent it in the lawsuit that is challenging the new abortion law.

Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the Emma Goldman Clinic filed suit last week, saying the restrictions of the new law make it a “virtual ban” on all abortions in the state. Democrat state Attorney General Tom Miller announced he would not defend the state in the lawsuit, saying that he “could not zealously assert the state’s position because of his core belief that the statute, if upheld, would undermine rights and protections for women.”

Chief Deputy Attorney General Eric Tabor says the executive council and legislators agreed the Thomas More Society would “do a good job.” “Because of their experience and the qualifications of their lawyers. And their desire to do it. Their zealous desire to defend the statute,” Tabor says. The executive council — which includes the Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Secretary of Agriculture and Governor — voted to hire the Thomas More Society. Governor Kim Reynolds was traveling and did not take part in the vote.

The law approved by Republican legislators and signed by Republican Reynolds, would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Tabor says “it’s his understanding” the outside law firm’s work will come at no cost to the state. He says the Thomas More Society would advise the state about moving forward with appeals.

“And we’d be in consultation with the governor’s office. We are the state, we are the client. But we would I think take advice from them about what they wanted to do in the case. They’re the lawyers,” Tabor says. Tabor says a contract will be signed ahead of the first hearing in the legal challenge, which is scheduled for June first.

(Iowa Public Radio’s Katarina Sostaric contributed to this story)