Iowa Supreme Court Allows Ban on Abortion at Six-Weeks

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the state can implement its new “heartbeat law” which bans abortion at six weeks gestation is constitutional and may take effect. The law had been temporarily blocked following a legal challenge by abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

Ruling 4-3 in the matter on Jun. 28, Iowa’s highest court overturned an earlier temporary block on the law, which had passed in July last year. Set to take effect within the next few weeks, following some other court procedures, the new law will replace the state’s current ban on abortion at 20 weeks gestation.

Under the new law, abortion will be banned at six weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, life-threatening fetal abnormalities, and danger to the life of the woman. In cases of rape and incest, the crimes must have been reported to police within 45 days and 140 days respectively.

“We conclude that the fetal heartbeat statute is rationally related to the state’s legitimate interest in protecting unborn life,” the Iowa Supreme Court said in its majority ruling on Friday.

Dissenting, the court’s Chief Justice Susan Christensen wrote: “The majority’s rigid approach relies heavily on the male-dominated history and traditions of the 1800s, all the while ignoring how far women’s rights have come since the Civil War era.”

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