Reynolds seeks six-week abortion ban
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The DMR politics team was doing some brainstorming Monday, wondering how and when Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds would act to implement new abortion restrictions following a pair of court decisions resetting the legal landscape in Iowa and nationally.
We didn't have to wait long for an answer, it turns out. Tuesday afternoon Reynolds announced that she is calling on the courts to reconsider two older cases that would curtail abortion access in the state.
First, Reynolds has called on an Iowa district court to lift an injunction it previously imposed on a 2018 law banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, often around six weeks into a pregnancy.
When it was signed, that law was the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. If it's allowed to take effect now, it will be less restrictive than laws enacted in many states that impose a near-total ban on the procedure.
Reynolds has also asked the Iowa Supreme Court to reconsider a case involving a 24-hour waiting period for abortions. This is the case the court just recently ruled on, issuing a decision June 17 that overturns prior precedent recognizing a "fundamental right" to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.
But, in that decision, the court left some gray area about what legal standard should be applied to abortion cases moving forward, suggesting that an imminent U.S. Supreme Court decision would "provide insights." Now that Roe v. Wade, which established a national right to abortion, has also been overturned, Reynolds argued that the court should revisit its decision and establish that legal standard.
This has been Chief Politics Reporter Brianne Pfannenstiel. Check out our full story, which brings together reporting from me as well as my colleagues, Ian Richardson, Stephen Gruber-Miller and William Morris.
Have questions? Between the four of us, we can probably find an answer. Send your thoughts my way: bpfann@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Reynolds seeks six-week abortion ban
