Kim Reynolds appeals injunction blocking Iowa's 6-week abortion ban. What comes next:

Gov. Kim Reynolds is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to lift an injunction blocking Iowa's restrictive new abortion law so it can take effect immediately.

Lawyers defending Iowa's "fetal heartbeat" law said they filed the appeal Friday, after Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin temporarily blocked the law Monday until a legal challenge is decided. The court filing did not appear online Friday afternoon.

Reynolds signed the law last week, banning nearly all abortions after doctors detect cardiac activity in the embryo. That can occur about six weeks after conception, before many women know they are pregnant.

“Judge Seidlin stated this week that the Iowa Supreme Court left off last month with an 'invitation to litigate' further the standard of review on abortion regulations," Reynolds said in a statement Friday afternoon. "Invitation or not, I will never stop fighting to protect our unborn children and to uphold state laws enacted by our elected legislators."

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

Doctors have said calling cardiac activity at this stage of pregnancy a "fetal heartbeat" is a misnomer. At about six weeks, the pregnancy is still in the embryotic stage and the cardiac activity is a series of electrical impulses.

The legislation contains narrowly defined exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and cases of medical emergency.

With the law blocked for now, abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Iowa law requires a 24-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion.

What do abortion providers and Attorney General Brenna Bird say about the lawsuit?

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

Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, praised the temporary injunction blocking the law earlier this week. But she said she knew the state could appeal.

"Planned Parenthood remains committed to providing abortion care in Iowa," Richardson said Monday. "Our abortion patient navigators will continue to connect patients in Iowa with the resources that they need to get to their appointments wherever they are. No matter what, we will help our patients be seen in a place that is most accessible for them."

Attorney General Brenna Bird issued a statement Friday saying "the right to life is the most fundamental right of all."

"Today, we are taking our defense of Iowa’s Heartbeat Law to the Iowa Supreme Court to allow the law to go back in effect and protect innocent lives," Bird said. "I’m confident that the law is on our side, and we will continue fighting for the right to life in court."

How might the Iowa Supreme Court rule on the 'fetal heartbeat' law?

The appeal takes the issue of abortion back before the Iowa Supreme Court, which last month deadlocked 3-3 on a case over whether to let a nearly identical 2018 law go into effect. The court's tie vote left the 2018 law blocked.

One member of the seven-person court, Justice Dana Oxley, recused herself from the case.

Reynolds has said the court got it wrong in that case and she believes the law is constitutional.

Last year, in a different case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that there is not a fundamental constitutional right to abortion in Iowa, overturning a prior decision. One week later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nationwide right to abortion.

"I think the bill that we passed is constitutional, especially with the changes that we've seen," she told reporters on Tuesday.

But in last year's ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court 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.

The state's lawyers say courts should instead use "rational basis," the most permissive standard of review, to consider whether Iowa's abortion laws are constitutional. That's the standard the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed in the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe.

Does the Iowa Supreme Court automatically have to accept the appeal?

Because Reynolds is appealing a temporary injunction, and not a final ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court could choose not to take up the appeal.

If the court does take up the appeal, it would likely set a briefing schedule and decide the issue in its upcoming term, which begins Sept. 1 and runs through June 30, 2024.

Alan Ostergren, a Republican attorney who defended the 2018 law but is not involved in the current case, said the reason for the court to take the appeal is obvious.

"The legal standard by which abortion regulations are judged is really the entire case," he said. "And given where we are, only the Supreme Court can answer that question."

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: Kim Reynolds appeals ruling blocking Iowa's 6-week abortion ban