UNDER SIEGE

Iowa Supreme Court Issues Devastating Ruling on Abortion Rights

The court has reversed a 2018 decision that protected the right to abortion for all Iowans under the state constitution.

The Iowa Supreme Court struck down on Friday a 2018 decision that protected the right to abortion under the state constitution, allowing lawmakers to potentially enact severe restrictions or bans against abortion. The 2018 decision from the same court, then composed of a majority of Democratic appointees, enshrined the right to abortion in the Iowa Constitution. The decision may have fast-tracked the state to a near or total abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Iowa’s Republican lawmakers will now be able to ban abortion without having to deal with amending the constitution. Friday’s decision came after abortion providers sued the state over a 2020 law requiring a pregnant person to wait 24 hours between an initial appointment and an abortion. While that law was struck down, based partially on the fact that it infringed on the state Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling, the court has now decided that the 2018 decision is void and it was the wrong precedent to set.