A legal challenge has been filed to block Iowa’s new legislation banning most abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy
DES A legal challenge was filed Wednesday to block Iowa’s new legislation banning most abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, launching what will likely be a lengthy and emotional court battle just hours after the Legislature’s late-night vote.
The bill was passed with exclusively Republican support in a rare, one-day legislative burst lasting more than 14 hours. That’s despite the vocal — and sometimes tense — objections from Democratic lawmakers and abortion advocates protesting at the Capitol.
Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will sign the bill, which would take immediate effect, on Friday.
The challenge, filed by the ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic, requests that a district court temporarily put the soon-to-be law on hold as the courts assess its constitutionality.
Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, but that would change with the stroke of Reynolds‘ pen Friday. The new legislation prohibits almost all abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant.
