Iowa abortion law temporarily blocked Polk County judge as court challenge continues

A Polk County judge has temporarily blocked Iowa's "fetal heartbeat" law as a court challenge plays out, meaning abortion is again legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the "fetal heartbeat" law at about 2:45 p.m. Friday at the Family Leadership Summit, a gathering of conservative Christians where half a dozen Republican presidential contenders also took the stage.

It took effect immediately, banning nearly all abortions after doctors detect cardiac activity in the embryo. That can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

There are narrowly defined exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and cases of medical emergency.

Reynolds said Monday she would fight the ruling.

"The abortion industry’s attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today," Reynolds said in a statement. "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."

More: Most abortions now banned in Iowa after Gov. Kim Reynolds signs 'fetal heartbeat' law

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said Monday that the ruling is "a win for reproductive freedom and it will save lives."

"It’s simple: politicians and judges have no place interfering in someone else’s decisions about when to start a family," Konfrst said in a statement. "Reynolds and Republican lawmakers are so busy playing politics to appease the special interests that they’ve stopped listening to the strong majority of Iowans who do not support their abortion ban."

Iowa judge blocks 'fetal heartbeat' law, but allows Board of Medicine to write rules

The Iowa Legislature passed the law in a marathon daylong special legislative session on July 11, which drew massive protests and heckling from the galleries as lawmakers voted around 11 p.m.

Abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa quickly filed a lawsuit, alleging that the law violates Iowans' inalienable rights and their rights to due process and equal protection under the Iowa Constitution.

The providers — Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic and Dr. Sarah Traxler — asked for the law to be temporarily blocked, saying it would irreparably harm Iowans. Lawyers defending the state said the law should remain in effect because it protects the state's "vital interest in unborn life."

Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin heard arguments from both sides on Friday.

In his ruling, Seidlin said he would grant the the plaintiffs' request for a temporary injunction, blocking the law from taking effect while the lawsuit continues. He noted that "there are good, honorable and intelligent people — morally, politically and legally — on both sides of this upsetting societal and constitutional dilemma."

Despite the injunction, Seidlin's ruling allows the Iowa Board of Medicine to go forward with writing administrative rules to govern the law's implementation. Doctors and critics of the law have raised concerns that without rules, it's unclear whether doctors could face penalties for providing abortions, and how women could verify that they qualify for the law's exceptions.

"Should the injunction entered today ultimately be dissolved, itwould only benefit all involved, patients and providers alike, to have rules in place to administer the law," Seidlin wrote.

More: Judge to decide next week whether to block Iowa law banning abortions after about 6 weeks

How are abortion providers reacting to the court ruling?

The ruling means Planned Parenthood clinics will be open in Iowa on Tuesday to resume providing appointments for patients.

"While we know that the state may seek an appeal, we are proud to resume services for our patients and provide patient outreach to help break through the state of manufactured chaos that is our new normal," said Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States.

Iowa law requires a 24-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion, meaning Wednesday is the earliest that a patient could receive an abortion.

For abortion providers, Monday’s ruling brought a complete swing from the mood at the end of last week, as they scrambled to see as many patients as possible before Reynolds’ signature put the ban into effect on Friday. Richardson said Planned Parenthood staff stayed late on Thursday night seeing patients and making calls.

"There were hundreds of phone calls that were made as we were trying to prepare patients for this new reality," she said.

Sharon Wegner, an attorney at the ACLU of Iowa, said the court's ruling recognizes that the law "bans abortion before many people know that they are pregnant, at just six weeks after a last menstrual period or about two weeks after a missed period."

"We are relieved that Iowans will be protected in their ability to seek abortion care for the time being under the order issued today," Wegner said. "This order is essential to protecting the bodily autonomy rights and freedom of Iowans, as well as their health and safety, while this unconstitutional and dangerous abortion ban is litigated."

In her statement, Reynolds criticized abortion providers for resuming services.

"In their own words, the abortion industry stressed the need for a temporary injunction so they could continue with 200 scheduled abortions in the next two weeks," she said in her statement. "While life was protected for a few days, now even more innocent babies will be lost."

Prior 'fetal heartbeat' law saw lengthy court battle

Reynolds signed a nearly identical law in 2018 that was permanently blocked by the courts.

The governor tried unsuccessfully to revive it after state and federal court decisions last year rolled back protections for abortion, but the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on the case in June, leaving the law blocked.

Following the court defeat, Reynolds quickly called the special session and urged lawmakers to act again to restrict abortion.

What legal standard will be used to review abortion restrictions?

One of the questions in the current case is whether abortion merits additional protections under the Iowa Constitution.

Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that there is not a fundamental constitutional right to abortion in Iowa, overturning a prior decision.

But the ruling declined to say what standard Iowa courts should use to evaluate abortion restrictions in the future. Instead, it left in place an "undue burden" standard for abortion restrictions, meaning any law that imposes a substantial obstacle for someone seeking an abortion should be struck down.

One week after the Iowa Supreme Court's 2022 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the "undue burden" standard at the federal level. The state's lawyers say the state should instead use "rational basis," the most permissive standard of review, to consider whether Iowa's abortion laws are constitutional.

Seidlin said the 2022 Iowa Supreme Court ruling left the "undue burden" standard in place, requiring him to follow that standard when evaluating whether the new law should be blocked.

"This court does not get to declare that our Supreme Court got it wrong and then impose a different standard," he wrote. "Such would be an alarming exercise of judicial activism. This court is bound to decide this matter pursuant to the instruction of our Supreme Court."

Michaela Ramm contributed to this report.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa abortion law temporarily blocked by Polk County judge