Iowa’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Halted by Court
Judge temporarily blocks law enacted last week, says state Supreme Court will need to weigh in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a bill banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Photo: SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS By Laura Kusisto July 17, 2023 5:43 pm ET An Iowa judge blocked a new state ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, the first step in a legal battle that is likely to make its way to the state’s highest court. District Judge Joseph Seidlin issued a temporary injunction Monday that prohibited enforcement of the ban that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law late last week, saying that recent decisions from the Iowa Supreme Court continued to protect at least some measure of abortion access. “This court does not get to declare that our Supreme
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a bill banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Photo: SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS
An Iowa judge blocked a new state ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, the first step in a legal battle that is likely to make its way to the state’s highest court.
District Judge Joseph Seidlin issued a temporary injunction Monday that prohibited enforcement of the ban that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law late last week, saying that recent decisions from the Iowa Supreme Court continued to protect at least some measure of abortion access.
“This court does not get to declare that our Supreme Court got it wrong and then impose a different standard. Such would be an alarming exercise of judicial activism,” Seidlin wrote.
Abortion access in Iowa has been in flux for weeks now thanks to a series of fast-moving legal and political developments. In June, the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked on the fate of a 2018 law banning abortion after six weeks, a split that left in place a judge’s order permanently blocking the law. The court, however, indicated it could consider the matter again if lawmakers enacted a new measure in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s elimination of federal constitutional protections for abortion last year.
From a high-stakes legal battle over the abortion pill mifepristone, to states debating their own legislation, WSJ’s Laura Kusisto highlights where abortion access stands now and what could come next. Photo Illustration: Preston Jessee
In response, Reynolds called a special session of the state legislature, which passed a similar six-week ban a week ago. Abortion providers filed an immediate legal challenge before the governor had signed the law.
The providers argued that the bill was written in haste and contained a number of inconsistencies. They also said the law’s immediate effective date had created chaos as clinics scrambled to see patients before the governor signed it.
The state responded that the bill was designed to protect the lives of unborn children and delaying enforcement would lead to irreparable harm.
Write to Laura Kusisto at [email protected]
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