Iowa inks strictest abortion ban in U.S.

Restrictive law has sparked protest, faces likely legal challenge

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a law banning most abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or at around six weeks of pregnancy — marking the strictest abortion regulation in the U.S., but setting the state up for a lengthy court fight. The Republican governor signed the legislation in her formal office at the state capitol as protesters gathered outside chanting, “My body, my choice!” Reynolds acknowledged that the new law would likely face litigation, but said: “This is bigger than just a law, this is about life and I’m not going to back down.” Reynolds has previously said she was “proud to be pro-life.”

The ban, set to take effect on July 1, has propelled Iowa to the front of a push among conservative statehouses jockeying to enact restrictive regulations on the medical procedure. Mississippi passed a law earlier this year banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it’s on hold after a court challenge.

The law provides for some exemptions that allow abortions during a later pregnancy stage to save the woman’s life or in some cases of rape and incest.

“We will challenge this law with absolutely everything we have on behalf of our patients because Iowa will not go back,” Suzanna de Baca, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said.

Critics argued the bill would ban abortions before some women even know they’re pregnant. That likely sets the state up for a legal challenge.

Outside Reynolds’ office, critics of the bill began leaving coat hangers by her staff’s desks. More than 100 people showed up to oppose the legislation Friday morning outside the Capitol. One of them was Georgia Jecklin, who said, “As a 66-yearold woman, I feel very strongly that women have a right to their own body decisions.”