‘IT WILL SAVE LIVES’

Iowa’s New 6-Week Abortion Ban Temporarily Blocked by Judge

The state’s Republican governor, who signed the “fetal heartbeat” bill into law last week, vowed to appeal the ruling.

An Iowa judge on Monday temporarily halted the state’s new ban on nearly all abortions after the six-week mark, roughly the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The move, which comes just days after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law, restores access to abortions as a related lawsuit moves forward. Abbey Hardy-Fairbanks, medical director of the Iowa City-based Emma Goldman Clinic—a plaintiff in the lawsuit alongside the ACLU of Iowa and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland—said they were “deeply relieved” by the injunction. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst (D) said the ruling was “a win for reproductive freedom and it will save lives.” Gov. Reynolds vowed to appeal the ruling in a statement on Monday. “The abortion industry’s attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today,” she said. “But I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.”