Abortion rights in Iowa threatened
State supreme court affirmed abortion access with ruling, but it was procedural victory
Abortion rights in Iowa are in a precarious state as activists wait to see how the legislature responds to the state supreme court striking down a six-week ban on abortion.
The court had previously struck down a ban prior to the Dobbs decision. Afterward, antiabortion activists again tried to get a fetal heartbeat bill to go into effect. They challenged it in court to overturn the previous ruling protecting abortion rights. The state supreme court ruled 3-3 that they couldn’t overturn a previous ruling simply because Roe was overturned. It was just a procedural victory, according to April Clark, a board member for the Iowa Abortion Access Fund.
“They just ruled that they couldn't go back and make a new ruling on this ruling after it had already been settled law. (They didn’t say) anything about the constitutionality of abortion itself for residents of Iowa, just that this had already been settled previously.”
Clark and her allies are unsure if Gov. Kim Reynolds will call a special session to pass a new fetal heartbeat law. If Reynolds doesn’t, activists will wait until January when a new session in the legislature begins.
It’s likely that the issue would again be before the state supreme court should the legislature pass a similar ban. When that happens, the legal questions would be over its constitutionality instead of procedural matters. Dixon said abortion rights could be taken away very easily.
Iowa state supreme court justices are appointed by the governor. They can be removed from the body though, as happened after the state supreme court upheld gay marriage. That’s a possibility for abortion rights activists should any fetal heartbeat bill be upheld.
Sixty-one percent of Iowa adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 35% say the procedure should be illegal in most or all cases, according to a poll conducted by the Des Moines Register.
A ballot initiative is a possibility, but it would be difficult to happen. It would have to be read through the state legislature twice. That is unlikely since the government is controlled by Republicans.
“I know a lot of people who are pro-choice are interested in a ballot initiative,” Dixon said. “I just think it will be difficult to pass at this point. Not if it got in front of the voters, but just getting it through the legislature.”