Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed abortion policy to be decided upon by states, Governor Kim Reynolds is asking Iowa courts to reverse a decision to block a fetal heartbeat law passed in 2018.
The law banned abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, which usually happens around six weeks. It did include exceptions for victims of rape and incest and included exceptions if an abortion could save a pregnant woman's life.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the ACLU of Iowa, and the Emma Goldman Clinic sued the state and the governor over the law. A judge ruled in their favor, immediately putting the law on hold and then blocking it fully in 2019. The judge ruled the law violated the Iowa Constitution and pointed to Roe v. Wade protections federally
Reynolds decided not to challenge the judge's decision at the time but the landscape has drastically changed since that ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections promised in Roe v. Wade ruling, and the Iowa Supreme Court overturned the ruling it made in 2018 that the state's constitution protected the woman's right to an abortion.
Gov. Reynolds also is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds following the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Roe in hopes of implementing a 24-hour waiting period for women wanting an abortion.
“Now is the time for us to stand up and continue the fight to protect the unborn,” Gov. Reynolds said in a statement.
“The Supreme Court’s historic decision reaffirms that states have the right to protect the innocent and defenseless unborn—and now it’s time for our state to do just that."
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller released a statement Tuesday right after the governor's announcement, saying he is disqualifying himself from arguing on the state's behalf in this case.
Miller's full statement concerning why is below.
Our office is withdrawing from the case involving the 24-hour waiting period, or House File 594, for ethical reasons. I have made many clear public statements supporting Roe v. Wade and the rationale that underlies it. Those statements would be inconsistent with what the state would argue in court. I support the undue burden standard that the U.S. Supreme Court set forth in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The 24-hour case has now moved to a point in which I doubt that I can zealously assert the state's position. The question now before the Iowa Supreme Court is whether the rational basis test should apply to abortion regulations. I believe that standard would have a detrimental impact on women’s reproductive rights, health care, and our society. Therefore, I am disqualifying myself pursuant to Iowa Code section 13.3.
This decision is consistent with my disqualification in the fetal heartbeat case in 2018. In that case, I stated that I could not zealously assert the state's position because of my core belief that the statute, if upheld, would undermine rights and protections for women. In my nearly 40 years in office, I have declined to represent the state in only one other similar situation. I do not take lightly my responsibility to represent the state.
Reynolds says Alliance Defending Freedom and Iowa attorney Alan Ostergren, President and Chief Counsel of the Kirkwood Institute, will represent the state at no cost to taxpayers.
A majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to the most recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. Released in September of 2021, the poll showed 57 percent of Iowans polled believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases while only 38 percent said it should be illegal in most or all cases.