Des Moines, Iowa — There’s an unresolved legal challenge to the law that would ban most abortions in Iowa — and Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa will continue to provide abortions up to the 20th week of a pregnancy until further action from the courts.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on June 28th that a six-week abortion ban is legal under Iowa’s constitution, but the ACLU of Iowa has filed a petition asking the justices to rehear the case. The district court judge who would lift the injunction that’s blocked the law from taking effect cannot act until that matter is resolved. Ruth Richardson is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of North Central States. She says the situation is temporary relief and once the nearly total ban on abortions in Iowa goes into effect, Planned Parenthood has developed plans to help patients get out-of-state abortions if their pregnancy is beyond that early window. Francesca Turner is an OB-GYN in Des Moines and a member of Iowans for Health Liberty. She says there are many complications during pregnancy and they might not be considered life-threatening under the law’s exception for life of the mother.
The law has other exceptions for fetal abnormalities and for victims of rape and incest who quickly report the assaults to police
