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Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa’s attorney general says the state’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear legal arguments over Iowa’s so-called “fetal Iowa’s attorney general says the state’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear legal arguments over Iowa’s so-called “fetal heartbeat” law.
In July, Governor Reynolds signed a bill that bans most abortions after fetal activity can be detected, which is around the sixth week of a pregnancy. Abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sued and a district court judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed an appeal to the state’s highest court Wednesday. Governor Reynolds says it’s time for the Iowa Supreme Court to uphold the law once and for all. Reynolds signed similar legislation in 2018, but the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional.
The make-up of the state supreme court has changed dramatically since then. Reynolds has appointed five of the court’s seven justices.
