DES MOINES – Today, the Polk County District Court ruled that Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban violates the Iowa’s state constitution and issued a permanent injunction.
As the district court ruled, the statute would have banned abortion well before viability. Indeed, the statute would have banned abortion at a stage in pregnancy before many women even know they are pregnant.
PPHeartland Medical Director Jill Meadows, M.D., said “Today’s ruling is a victory for every Iowan who has ever needed or will need a safe, legal abortion. At Planned Parenthood, we’re here to provide nonjudgmental support and factual, medically accurate information so that every patient can make their own personal decision about a pregnancy based on their own values, desires and needs, without political interference. We are pleased that especially today, on the 46th anniversary of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, abortion care was upheld as a safe and legal part of basic reproductive health care.”
The law would have prohibited most abortions as soon as any embryonic cardiac activity was detected, usually around 6 weeks. The district court rejected the argument that women could be required to make the decision to terminate or carry a pregnancy to term so soon in the pregnancy. Many women don’t even know they are pregnant at 6 weeks. The law, the court ruled, “would relegate the individual rights of Iowa women to something less than fundamental.”
“Today’s victory is essential to the rights and safety of women in Iowa,” said Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU of Iowa legal director. “It follows in the footsteps of the Iowa Supreme Court decision on abortion in 2018 that recognized the fundamental right to a safe and legal abortion for Iowa women, which cannot be legislated away. Today’s decision upholds women’s freedom and equality in Iowa.”
Francine Thompson, Executive Director of the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City, said, “The Emma Goldman Clinic is proud to stand with our partners, the ACLU of Iowa and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, as we celebrate the court’s decision today to overturn the egregious heart beat ban signed into law by Kim Reynolds. It is befitting that as we celebrate the anniversary of Roe v Wade, our clients can continue to rely on access to first and second trimester abortions at the Emma Goldman Clinic.”
Erin Davison-Rippey, Planned Parenthood’s State Executive Director of Iowa, said, “We are grateful the Court blocked Gov. Reynolds’ egregious attempt to ban safe, legal abortion in Iowa. Planned Parenthood will continue to stand up for Iowa women and fight back against the Legislature’s attacks on reproductive health. We will do all we can to make sure abortion continues to be safe and legal in our state – no matter what.”
The ruling can be found online here.
Planned parenthoot in the dems eyes – kill the legal kids and import 3rd world countries kids- NWO = globalists = demorats demonic agenda. remember agenda 21 – old G H Bush the only cia director to become pres and his muslim friend cia Brennen. CHILLING EH !
DEMONCRAPS = socialists – ATHEISM – LIBERALS – Need the patrotic M A.G A S say more ? Swamp/vermin in DC are causing this distruction of America – – sorry about the animals – they take care of their young.
New York noted for murderes – JUST passed a bill authorized killing babies right up to the time of birth ! For get this – hardship – not wanting to be responsible etc. Should make a money maker out of planned parenthoodleums – it’s already a billion dollar slaughter house for the dems.
Not saying that the end justifies the means, but giving credit where credit is due, they do kill democrats-in-training by the millions 🙂
Anyone who has no feelings for the creation of life and can destroy nature’s creation is void of love and logic. To defile and destroy for purely selfish reasons is insane.
There is absolutely the most minuscule reason a women’s life would be in jeopardy after 24 months , this is for convenience only. That is a living child, a infant, that is murder.
Its a slippery slope. Where does it start and when does it stop? If you arbitrarily pick 24 weeks, whose to say it shouldn’t be 16 weeks? 10 weeks? 1 week? At sperm?
The government (and your kooky religion) just needs to be left out of the decision entirely. Leave it up to the mother who knows her individual circumstances best.
How old are you? 14?
All baby killers should have been aborted at birth.
Wait–I am confused to the comments here– LIFE begins when the head (comes out?) yet, crime is enforced if pregnant woman killed by charging killer(?) with two crimes of murder. AND Death penalty is considered wrong for the most heinous crimes committed? I don’t understand all of this…..WHY, is life, to have so many different options, you are either alive, or you are not, if you are alive and you are killed, by ANY means, then …..someone answer?
When are you considered alive? As sperm in the fathers testicles? Upon fertilization? When there is a detectable heartbeat? When there are 10 fingers and 10 toes? When head breaks the plane of the vagina?
Its just all too arbitrary. Only reasonable thing to do is to leave the government out of it and leave the decision up to the individual that knows their circumstances best.
That’s all good, except how are we supposed to ask that individual when it isn’t even born yet? Realistically, government needs to get no more, no less involved than it does any other time humans are killed: we the people elect representatives passing bills reflecting our collective moral average, and anyone who doesn’t dig it has a right to leave.
When do you consider ‘it’ to achieve individuality? Father sperm? Fertilized egg?? Heartbeat? Decree from invisible sky wizard?
The ONLY reasonable solution is to leave the government (and your kooky religion) out of it completely. Leave the decision up to the mother who knows the situation best.
Don’t get your hopes up, and don’t let the door hitcha 🙂
With your beliefs you will always stay warm.
To the crappy religion person: If there is a fetal heart beat there is LIFE! If a mother was close to full terms and died but didn’t deliver
FALSE! That’s what your crappy religion says. My crappy religion says the fetus head has to break the plane of the mothers vagina to be considered life.
My religion says that feebleminded libtards such as yourself can be retroactively aborted indefinitely and at the discretion of the tax paying citizenry.
LOL!
The Supreme Court need to over rule this B.S. ruling. Judges should not have the authority to over rule our government. It is never all right to KILL babies.
Under what basis would the Supreme Court review this case?!?!!? This unconstitutional law will be struck down at every single level of our judicial system. Why should the Iowa Tax Payer have to pay their tax money to try and push this unconstitutional, religious based law through ?!?!?!
There is nothing unconstitutional about it, as the constitution does not protect a right to abortion. Roe vs Wade is widely recognized as a textbook example of judicial activism, comparable to Dred Scott or Lochner vs New York. Since it is still standing, the district court did the right thing striking down our heartbeat bill, but once Roe vs Wade is overturned – and it won’t be long now – both sides on this issue can finally stop grand standing, and have each state exercise its right to enact abortion legislation based on the needs and beliefs of its own citizens, and without undue interference from the federal government.
But your crappy religion says life begins with a fetal heartbeat. And my crappy religion says life begins when the fetus head breaks the plane of the mothers vagina. So who’s crappy religion is correct?
Seems like the only reasonable thing to do is to not have laws based on crappy religions and leave the issue of abortion up to each individual who knows their circumstances best.
You are not playing with a full deck!
Why should the Iowa Taxpayer have to pay to kill other people’s babies?
Way cheaper than the alternative.
Hahahahaha religious people are mentally ill. If you believe in a wizard in the sky, you are a fool, or mentally ill. Medieval mindsets will destroy our species, and everything we touch.
Couldn’t agree more.
Statistically speaking, mental illness is a bigger problem amongst non-religious people. As is reduced life expectancy, drug abuse, unemployment, suicide- and over all crime rates. Say what you want about the wizard but he clearly does something for his sheeple.
Tell me more. I also want to know about the tooth fairy and Easter bunny. How do their believers fair in mental heath, employment, and life expectancy?
Poor snowflake, did you get your feelings hurt?
Anyone who does not believe in a greater power is stupid along with being mentally ill. Something had to create all this. It didn’t just happen. Call it what you want, but it does exist.
We are organic chemistry. Nothing more or less.
> We are organic chemistry. Nothing more or less.
Maybe, maybe not. Either way, plenty of studies out there showing that chemical blobs that have faith suffer from less mental issues than blobs who don’t. Oh, it hurts to be wrong, doesn’t it, Vagina Boy?
Neat. There are plenty of studies out there that say the world is flat too. But I, along with other sane folks, know its not.
Thank you Polk County District Court for being the voice of reason! Religious beliefs have no place In the laws of our land!!!
These are the same group of human body parts demons that waylaid that Group of high school students having a rally for RIGHT TO LIFE – in DC this weekend – billion dollar baby parts and blood for the demons in the swamp of DC.