The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday overruled a 2018 decision that said the right to abortion was protected under the state constitution.
That decision — coupled with the potential overturn by the U.S. Supreme Court of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion — would give Iowa lawmakers significantly more freedom to pass and enforce restrictive abortion laws.
The Iowa Supreme Court’s reversal came in a fractured decision that reverses a lower court’s decision to block a 2020 law that put in place 24-hour waiting period before an abortion. The majority opinion said the Supreme Court’s previous ruling establishing a constitutional right to an abortion “insufficiently recognizes that future human lives are at stake.”
The ruling sends the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.
More:Iowa lawmakers can’t immediately ban abortion. Here’s what they did instead.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed the challenge to the law, arguing that its passage had violated procedural rules and that the waiting period was unconstitutional.
The composition of the court has shifted since the 2018 decision, with Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, appointing four of the seven justices.
More:Read the Iowa Supreme Court’s full opinion on abortion
While rejecting the finding of a constitutional guarantee of the right to abortion, Friday’s decision did not say what the new standard should be.
“Although we overrule (the 2018 decision), and thus reject the proposition that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in Iowa’s Constitution subjecting abortion regulation to strict scrutiny, we do not at this time decide what constitutional standard should replace it,” Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in the majority opinion.
How will the decision impact Iowa abortion laws?
Republican leaders in Iowa have repeatedly passed laws to impose waiting periods or forbid abortion much earlier in pregnancy than currently permitted, only to see those laws blocked by the courts.
Friday’s decision means anti-abortion lawmakers in Iowa will no longer need to contend with state-level constitutional protections, which would have remained in place even if the Roe case is overturned..
Gov. Kim Reynolds celebrated the Iowa Supreme Court decision in a Friday morning statement.
“Today’s ruling is a significant victory in our fight to protect the unborn. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed its earlier 2018 decision, which made Iowa the most abortion-friendly state in the country,” Reynolds said. “Every life is sacred and should be protected, and as long as I’m governor that is exactly what I will do.”
For the moment, Iowa lawmakers must still contend with Roe, which protects the right to an abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb.
But if the U.S. Supreme Court adopts a leaked majority opinion in the upcoming decision, Roe will be reversed, giving individual states leeway to pass and enforce laws that limit abortions even in the earliest weeks of pregnancy.
. Reynolds has declined to speculate about whether she would call lawmakers back to Des Moines for a special session on abortion.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said the decision “is a positive step in our fight to protect the unborn.” He did not offer specific legislative plans, but reaffirmed his caucus’s commitment against abortion.
“As we work to understand the full impact of this decision, Iowans can be assured that Iowa House Republicans are strongly pro-life and remain committed to protecting the unborn and providing additional support for new mothers,” Grassley said.
Democrats decried the ruling, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said it was a “step backwards for Iowa families.”
“Iowans should always have the final say in making their own healthcare decisions, including abortion, without interference from politicians,” Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said in a statement.
This is a developing story and will update.
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at [email protected] or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at [email protected], 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism