Abortion until the 20th week will remain legal in Iowa after a state judge temporarily blocked Iowa’s heartbeat law, which went into effect last week.
The limit, signed by Iowa governor Kim Reynolds (R.) on Friday, prohibited abortion once cardiac activity can be detected at the six-week mark, with exceptions for the mother’s life as well as rape, incest, and fatal fetal abnormalities. Reynolds had called a special session of the legislature to pass the limit through both chambers of the Republican-controlled general assembly.
In a ruling on Monday, Polk County judge Joseph Seidlin wrote that those challenging Iowa’s law, including Planned Parenthood, were likely to succeed in their claim that the ban violated the due-process clause of the Iowa constitution.
“The court will grant the temporary injunction requested here. In doing so, it recognizes that there are good, honorable and intelligent people — morally, politically and legally — on both sides of this upsetting societal and constitutional dilemma,” wrote Seidlin.
“Patience and perseverance are also hallmark traits on both sides, traits that continue to deserve respect. The court believes it must follow current Iowa Supreme Court precedent and preserve the status quo ante while this litigation and adversarial presentation which our Supreme Court has invited moves forward,” Seidlin added.
Iowa passed virtually the same abortion limit in 2018, and it was found to be unconstitutional by a state district court judge the following year. In the intervening years, both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Iowa supreme court have ruled that there is no right to an abortion under the U.S. and Iowa constitutions, respectively.
Reynolds thus decided to ask the Iowa supreme court to let her implement the 2018 law, but the justices in Des Moines deadlocked 3-3 last month, meaning the district court’s 2019 ruling was affirmed. This led the Iowa governor to call the special legislative session.
Reynolds was quick to respond to the legal setback. “The abortion industry’s attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today, but I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn,” Reynolds said in a statement Monday.
Seidlin clarified that while the law is blocked, the state’s board of medicine should proceed with creating rules for enforcement.
Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, which set forth the more permissive rational-basis standard in Dobbs, Iowa’s high court has kept in place the undue-burden standard in its recent abortion rulings. Seidlin noted that he was forced to apply the standard here.
“Undue burden is where our Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on the issue has left off, with an invitation to litigate the issue further. This, perhaps, is the litigation that accepts the invitation, and the jurisprudence will pick up again and presumably further refine or define the governing standard,” Seidlin wrote.