District court orders the 6-week fetal heartbeat abortion ban can take effect Monday morning
Iowa's ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected will go into effect Monday morning.
The order was issued Tuesday morning by the Polk County District Court.
Dr. Francesca Turner, a Des Moines OB/GYN who runs Iowans for Health Liberty, called it a disappointment on Tuesday.
"I felt it was very unfortunate for women and families, and communities of Iowa," Turner said.
Turner is worried this could affect medical care for everyone in Iowa.
"So we make it harder for physicians to want to come here -- they don't want to risk becoming a criminal, they don't want to risk their medical license, so they are going to be less likely to want to come and work in our state," Turner said.
Turner is adamant that the government is overstepping its reach in telling women what they can and can't do with their bodies.
"The bottom line is pregnancy is too complicated to legislate," Turner said. "We need to trust women that they know what to do for themselves and their families, and the government should not interfere in the physician-patient relationship."
The head of a local pro-life group had a different reaction to the order.
"Finally," said Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Pulse Life Advocates.
DeWitte said this effort started back in 2018 with a long-term goal they have never wavered from.
"The pro-life movement has been working tirelessly to see that women and families are protected," DeWitte said.
She said that despite the victory, the fight forges forward.
"We are here to protect all life, and that includes from the moment of conception. And that's really our gold standard. And so we are going to keep fighting until all babies and all women are protected here in Iowa," DeWitte said.
The law that will take effect on Monday bans most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy -- before many women know they are pregnant.
The law passed last year, but a judge had blocked it from being enforced. The Iowa Supreme Court reiterated in June that there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the state and ordered the hold to be lifted. That translated into Monday's district court judge's decision ordering the law to into effect at 8 a.m. Central time next Monday.
Lawyers representing abortion providers asked Judge Jeffrey Farrell for notice before allowing the law to take hold, saying a buffer period was needed to provide continuity of services. Iowa requires pregnant women to wait 24 hours for an abortion after getting an initial consultation. Abortion had been legal in the state up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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