ON HOLD

Iowa’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Will Remain Blocked After Judge’s Ruling

Abortion is still legal in Iowa through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion will remain legal in Iowa through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy after Iowa Judge Celene Gogerty ruled on Monday that the state Supreme Court cannot end a permanent injunction on a six-week abortion ban from 2018. The ban prohibited abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected in cases other than rape, incest, fetal abnormality, medical emergency, or when an abortion is considered medically necessary, according to The Hill. After the state Supreme Court found the ban violated its constitution, along with then-federal precedent, it issued a permanent injunction in 2019. But the government tried to end that injunction in August following Roe v. Wade’s downfall. Iowa’s constitution does not protect the fundamental right to abortion, according to The Hill. Gogerty, who found the ban unconstitutional because it violates the “undue burden” standard, wrote that Planned Parenthood v. Casey should be considered the governing standard, according to The Hill.