A district court judge on Tuesday said the law can be fully enforced starting July 29 at 8 a.m. CT, giving time for medical providers to receive notice of the change. Until the law takes effect, abortion will be legal in the state until 22 weeks of pregnancy. The state also has a 24-hour waiting period.
The law was passed last year and briefly took effect before it was blocked in response to a lawsuit from abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the ACLU of Iowa.
The Iowa Supreme Court last month reaffirmed the law, saying there was no constitutional right to an abortion in the state and ordered the block lifted.
Under the law, abortions are banned after fetal cardiac activity can be detected — usually around six weeks, before most women know they’re pregnant.
There are some exceptions for rape and incest if reported to the police or health provider within a specific time period. Medical exceptions include a fetal abnormality that’s “incompatible with life” or if the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life.
Iowa will now join three other states that have banned abortions around six weeks of pregnancy.
People in the Midwest seeking abortions will need to travel greater distances and wait longer to obtain care. The closest states for Iowans would most likely be Illinois, Minnesota or Nebraska, though Nebraska has a 12-week abortion ban law.
“Any time a patient is forced to travel across state lines for essential health care is devastating,” Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said in a statement.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to help patients get the care they need, which has included long-term regional investments in our Mankato [Minn.] and Omaha [Neb.] health centers. But Iowans deserve to access care in their own community and in their own state.”
