“As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa.” — Pro-life Gov. Kim Reynolds
By Dave Andrusko
If you’ve ever had a chance to read it, you know that the Des Moines Register need not take a back seat to anyone, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, for the title of the most pro-abortion publication in the United States.
They have covered—and blasted– Iowa’s Fetal Heartbeat law from the day it was first passed until today. Earlier this week we wrote about how the law would go into effect on July 29, but since the Register wrote about it again today and added more details, I thought I’d bring us up to date.
Here’s a brief chronology which could be much, much longer.
After a divided Iowa Supreme Court allowed a previous version of the law to remain blocked, Iowa’s pro-life governor Kim Reynolds called a special session that began on July 11 2023. The law, passed on July 14, was enjoined by District Judge Joseph Seidlin three days later
On June 28, 2024, on a 4-3 vote, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the law did pass constitutional muster. The court also established a lower legal bar for future pro-life legislation, “and ordered the district court to lift its injunction and let the law take effect,” the Register wrote.
In a last-ditch legal attempt to block the law’s implementation, on July 11, the plaintiffs–Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the ACLU of Iowa and the Emma Goldman Clinic — requested the court to rehear the case.
The state Supreme Court responded Monday, denying the request.
“After consideration by this court, the petition for rehearing in the above-captioned case is hereby overruled and denied,” says the brief response, which was signed by Chief Justice Susan Christensen. She was one of the three justices who voted in the minority June 28 against upholding the law.
“On July 22, after several procedural delays, the district court formally regained jurisdiction over the case,” wrote William Morris and Michaela Ramm.
But the plaintiffs haven’t given up. They “have raised several constitutional arguments against the law not addressed in last month’s Supreme Court decision, and have suggested they may continue to litigate on those grounds,” according to Morris and Ramm.
Gov. Reynolds, who has worked assiduously to enact a six-week ban since 2018, called the decision “a victory for life.”
“As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I remain deeply committed to supporting women in planning for motherhood, promoting the importance of fatherhood, elevating adoption, and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF). Families are the foundation of society, and policies that encourage strong families will make our state and country strong for generations to come.”
The fetal heartbeat protects unborn babies after fetal cardiac activity can be detected with exceptions in some cases for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and to protect the mother’s life.