Iowa abortion providers dismiss legal challenge against state’s strict law now that it’s in effect
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa abortion clinics on Thursday decided to drop their lawsuit against the state, ending a further legal battle after the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s ruling. strict abortion laws and reiterated that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state.
Iowa law bans most abortions after about six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant, entered into force on July 29. Abortion was legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
More than a dozen states throughout the country have tightened access to abortion in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Iowa law was passed in a special session by the Republican-controlled Legislature last year, but a legal challenge was immediately filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic. The law was in effect for only a few days before a district judge temporarily blocked it, a decision that Gov. Kim Reynolds appealed to the state Supreme Court.
The Iowa Supreme Court 4-3 verdict in June reiterated that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered the blockade to be lifted.
The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed Thursday, ending, at least for now, years of legal challenges. And while Planned Parenthood While they were fighting the law, they were still preparing for it by improving abortion access in neighboring states and drawing on lessons learned where bans took effect more quickly.
In a statement Thursday, Planned Parenthood said the organization took “every opportunity in court” to continue providing the same level of abortion access. But “the heartbreaking reality is that pursuing this case at this time would not improve or expand access to care,” said Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States.
“We remain focused on providing abortion care to Iowans within the new restrictions, and helping people who are now forced to travel across state lines to access the care and resources they need to take control of their bodies, lives, and futures,” she said in a statement.
In states with restrictions, major abortion options are pills via telecare or underground networks And to travelenormous increase demand in states with greater access.
The ruling marks a victory for Iowa’s Republican leaders and abortion advocates, many of whom expressed relief at the high court’s June decision after decades of operating under Roe. Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the ruling, saying at the time that the justices had finally “upheld the will of the people of Iowa.”