Iowa’s ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy was signed into law by the government on Friday. Kim Reynolds, but a judge is still considering abortion lawyers’ request to suspend the restrictions.

The new legislation bans almost all abortions as soon as heart activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. That’s a dramatic shift for women in Iowa, where abortion was legal up to 20 weeks gestation.

Reynolds signed the measure in front of 2,000 conservative Christians, barely a mile from where a court hearing was taking place for the request to delay the state’s new ban. Iowa’s ACLU, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic filed the legal challenge Wednesday, and representatives spoke at the court hearing Friday.

That hearing ended with the judge saying a decision on whether or not to suspend the new ban could be made next week.

Neighbourhood

court

Judge Joseph Seidlin said he couldn’t imagine anything more offensive to both sides than his flippant rule from the bench on Friday.

The split screen marks a bitter battle between advocates and opponents of abortion in Iowa that has dragged on for years and will likely remain unresolved for now as the courts review constitutionality.

As we gather here today, right now, the abortion industry is in court to prevent this law from going into effect and once again to stop the will of the people, Reynolds said before bringing people on stage to sign the law . But the passage of this legislation by an even larger margin this time sends an unmistakable message.

The bill passed late with exclusively Republican support

on

Tuesday at the end of a rare 2 p.m. special legislative session.

The new measure will be considered in the context of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Iowa Supreme Court last year, when both reversed rulings upholding a woman’s basic constitutional right to an abortion.

Those decisions prompted Reynolds to ask the court to reinstate her blocked 2018 law, which is nearly identical to the new one. The state high court deadlocked last month, prompting Reynolds to recall lawmakers to the Iowa State Capitol.

Patients’ lives are deeply impacted every day by this law, said Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Iowans will be harmed because they have lost the right to control their bodies and futures. Iowans should have the freedom to make the best medical decisions for themselves and their families. We stand by our patients as we await the court’s decision and are prepared to help them get the reproductive health care they need, regardless of the outcome.

Planned Parenthood North Central States planned to refer patients to other states, but remained hopeful that services would not be interrupted for long. According to court documents, 200 patients were scheduled for abortions this week and next Wednesday at Planned Parenthood in Iowa or the Emma Goldman Clinic. Most of them

Are

past six weeks into their pregnancy.

A Planned Parenthood clinic remained open until about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in an effort to provide abortion care ahead of the new restrictions, the

I clinics’

lawyer said.

I can only hope that all patients who had an appointment this morning have received the care they need and are now not in a health center, the clinic’s attorney, Peter Im, said during Friday’s trial.

Iowa lawmakers passed the law in less time than the 24th

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hours that patients have to wait before getting an abortion in Iowa,” he said, adding that the status quo for the past 50 years has been that pre-viability abortion is legal in Iowa.

This law, which the General Assembly passed in the dead of night Tuesday after less than a day of deliberation, will violate the laws of Iowans

‘

constitutional rights and change that status quo and have devastating consequences for Iowans,” he said.

There are limited circumstances under the measure that allow abortion after the point in a pregnancy where cardiac activity is detected: rape, if reported to the police or a healthcare provider within 45 days; incest, if reported within 145 days; if the fetus has a fetal abnormality incompatible with life; or if the pregnancy ends the pregnant woman’s life.

Most Republican-led states have slashed access to abortion in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade and transferred the authority of the abortion law to the states. More than a dozen states have banned it with limited exceptions, and one state, Georgia, bans abortion after heart activity is detected. Several other states have similar restrictions pending court rulings.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre immediately issued a statement saying Iowa’s newly signed law is an extreme ban on abortion that will take away a woman’s right to choose.”

As Republican-elected officials enact dangerous laws, President Biden and Vice President Harris stand with the majority of Americans who believe that personal healthcare decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians, and will Congress continues to call for the protection of Roe v. Wade in federal law, the statement said.