Iowa’s “heartbeat bill,” which made most abortions illegal once the baby’s heartbeat has been detected, passed in the legislature in May 2018 and the Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it into law. However, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU teamed up to challenge the law, and they asked a district court judge in an hour-long Friday hearing to forgo a trial and simply declare the law unconstitutional.
Ironically, the Iowa Supreme Court recently found that abortion is a fundamental right. Still, lawyers for the state argued the law should still stand because it isn’t a blanket ban. Martin Cannon, a lawyer from the Thomas More Society argued, “This bill does not ban one single abortion. Not one. It simply requires that all abortions be done earlier. If you’re going to have an abortion, do it promptly before the child reaches this milestone.” Planned Parenthood lawyer Alice Clapman opposed the bill because it doesn’t give women enough time to decide if they need an abortion. “You cannot recognize this right as fundamental, recognize how important it is to have that freedom, and then allow the state to come in and ban it,” Clapman said.
Judge Michael Huppert could take up to 60 days to decide either to permanently block the law or move forward with a trial. In June 2018, Judge Huppert granted a temporary injunction to Iowa’s law, so it has essentially been on hold since then.
According to local news reports, pro-life activists packed the courtroom on the day of the hearing. In Iowa, both the state House and Senate are Republican-controlled. It makes sense they would have passed the “heartbeat” bill in the first place and that so many constituents would have encouraged it.
Despite the claims from Planned Parenthood at the hearing, abortion isn’t as popular in Iowa as Planned Parenthood would like it to be. There are currently only four operating abortion clinics in Iowa. In 2015, the Des Moines Register reported that abortion numbers dropped 40 percent in Iowa over the previous seven years. In 2017, the Gazette reported abortion rates were at their lowest since Roe v. Wade.
Pro-life activists might be disappointed to see a law that essentially bans abortions pass the legislature then immediately be temporarily blocked with the potential for it to be deemed permanently unconstitutional. However, the system of checks and balances is necessary. After all, pro-life advocates use this same concept when they disagree with legislation too.
Even if Huppert rules the law is unconstitutional, it can still be appealed. The most obvious, heartening aspect of this legal tussle is that the law was passed in the first place. That, coupled with the fact that abortions in Iowa plunged last year, before it was passed, shows Iowa is increasingly valuing the life of the unborn.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
