Iowa Can Now Ban Abortion As State Court Strikes Down Right To Procedure

Topline

The Iowa Constitution does not protect the fundamental right to an abortion, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning a previous ruling that enshrined the right to the procedure, allowing new restrictions to take effect—and likely clearing the way for the state to further restrict or ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Abortion rights demonstrators during a nationwide rally in support of abortion rights in Washington, … [+] D.C., on May 14.

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Key Facts

The Iowa Supreme Court previously ruled in 2018 that the state constitution protects abortion, but the court overruled that decision on Friday, holding that the state constitution “is not the source of a fundamental right to an abortion.”

The ruling was in a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood concerning a mandatory 24-hour waiting period before people can get abortions in Iowa, which will now be allowed to take effect.

The court overruled its earlier decision after becoming more conservative since 2018, with Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) appointing four new justices to the bench (out of seven in total).

In its ruling, the court said that while it declared there’s no “fundamental” abortion rights, it still hasn’t decided “what constitutional standard should replace it,” and for now the state will still regulate abortion in line with federal law by not allowing any abortion restrictions that impose an “undue burden.”

That doesn’t mean the court couldn’t go further to let Iowa totally ban abortion in the future: the justices noted the U.S. Supreme Court is set to soon issue an abortion ruling that could overturn Roe v. Wade and let states ban abortion entirely, and said it will be watching to see if that decision “provide[s] insights that we are currently lacking.”

Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said the organization was “deeply disappointed that the Iowa Supreme Court is abandoning women in spite of overwhelming support for abortion access,” but stressed abortion is still “safe and legal” in the state even after the ruling.

Chief Critic

“This law imposes medically unjustified obstacles for Iowans that will delay people who can’t find the necessary transportation, time off work, or child care to enable them to obtain care under the restriction — and will effectively put abortion out of reach for many,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement Friday about the mandatory 24-hour waiting period. “For those who are forced to carry their pregnancy to term, and for their families, this law will impose life-altering consequences.”

What We Don’t Know

Whether other states will follow suit. In addition to Iowa, Florida, Montana, Kansas and Alaska are also Republican-led states where state supreme courts have enshrined the right to an abortion under the state constitution, according to the pro-abortion rights Center for Reproductive Rights. (Minnesota also has a similar court precedent.) Those rulings could also come under threat: the Florida Supreme Court is likely to soon weigh in on the state’s 15-week abortion ban and has similarly become more conservative, for instance, raising fears among critics the court will overturn its precedent. In Kansas, Republicans are already trying to have voters override the court, as a ballot measure in August will ask residents to decide whether the state constitution should be amended to say it does not protect abortion, which would nullify the earlier ruling and let lawmakers ban the procedure.

What To Watch For

Whether Iowa will ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe. The state had already passed a six-week abortion ban that was struck down as unconstitutional in 2019, which is likely to take effect again if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe and the state constitution now allows for abortion restrictions.

Key Background

The Iowa ruling comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to likely overturn Roe in the coming weeks, in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and whether states can restrict the procedure. A draft opinion leaked by Politico shows a majority of justices were in favor of overturning Roe entirely as of February, which would allow states to fully ban abortion, though the draft was from February and is not final. A final decision is expected at any point before the court’s term ends by early July. If the court does overturn Roe as expected, the pro-Guttmacher Institute projects 26 states will ban abortion—not including Iowa, which with Friday’s ruling could be added to the tally—and 13 states have “trigger laws” that would ban the procedure immediately or soon after the ruling.