Wikipedia

Abortion in Iowa

Abortion in Iowa is legal up to 20 weeks of gestation. A 6-week abortion ban has been indefinitely blocked in court.[1]

Over recent decades, the number of abortion clinics in Iowa has generally decreased, and state legislators have regularly introduced bills to severely restrict abortion. Public opinion in Iowa remains about evenly split on whether abortion should be legal.

In 2017, Iowa rejected millions of dollars in federal funding for Medicaid as part of their efforts to try to defund Planned Parenthood and its abortion services in the state. In 2020, it was reported that abortions in Iowa went up for the first time in decades—25 percent—with the loss of that federal aid attributed to the increase.[2]

In 2018, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Jill Meadows, M.D., and Emma Goldman Clinic (petitioners) filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in state court, arguing the early abortion ban violated the Iowa State Constitution. Courts supported their injunction request, saying the law violated the state's constitution.[3] A #StoptheBans protest occurred at the Statehouse in Des Moines on May 21, 2019.

In February 2020, the State Senate passed a constitutional amendment clarifying that there is no right to an abortion in the Iowa constitution. The amendment must pass the House, the legislature again in 2022, and a statewide vote before it becomes law.[4] The statewide vote would happen in 2024 at the earliest.[5]

In June 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a split decision (3–3) regarding a proposed 6-week abortion ban, meaning that the decision of a lower court not to enforce the ban was upheld; abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks.[6]

History edit

Legislative history edit

 
Status of the "heartbeat bills", i.e. abortion bans at around 6 weeks, by state (exceptions not marked):
  Heartbeat bills supplemented or rendered moot by abortion bans at all stages
  Abortion bans at all stages, but heartbeat bills blocked
  Other states with abortion bans at all stages, or states without abortion providers
  Heartbeat bill in force, without total abortion bans
  Heartbeat law partially passed by state legislature
  Law passed but blocked or struck down by court order

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[7] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were partly about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[7] Bans were also seen as protecting the life of the fetus or embryo, with abortion often being equated with infanticide.[citation needed]

In 2012, Iowa was one of three states where the legislature introduced a bill that would have banned abortion in almost all cases. It did not pass.[8] The legislature tried and failed again in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, where they were one of five states, one of three states, one of five states, one of four states, one of eleven states, and one of eleven states respectively trying to ban abortion.[8]

In 2017 in Iowa, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a bill that rejected millions of dollars in federal funding for Medicaid as part of their efforts to try to defund Planned Parenthood and its abortion services in the state.[9] The state legislature was one of ten states nationwide that tried to unsuccessfully pass an early abortion ban in 2018. Only Iowa successfully passed such a bill, but it was struck down by the courts.[8] The legislature had successfully passed a law moving the state's abortion ban to 6 weeks sometime between 2018 and 2019. This was struck down by the courts as too extreme.[8] As of mid-April 2019, state law banned abortion after week 22.[8] On May 4, 2018, governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that would ban abortion in Iowa after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, starting July 1, 2018.[10] On January 22, 2019, a county district judge declared the law to be in violation of Iowa's State Constitution and entered a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement.[11] In 2019, women in Iowa were eligible for pregnancy accommodation and pregnancy-related disability as a result of legal abortion or miscarriage. Employers were required to offer up to eight weeks of unpaid leave if a woman did not have sufficient leave available.[12]

On July 14, 2023, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill to ban abortion after about six weeks of gestation.[13] The state legislature had passed it several days earlier. The vote was 56–34 in the House and 32–17 in the Senate.[14] The 6-week ban was challenged in court and was indefinitely blocked by a district court judge on July 17.[15]

Judicial history edit

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[7]

On May 15, 2018, eleven days after Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed SF 359 into law, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Jill Meadows, M.D., and Emma Goldman Clinic (petitioners) filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in state court arguing the early abortion ban violated the Iowa State Constitution.[16][17][18] On June 1, 2018, Polk County District Court Judge Michael Huppert entered a preliminary injunction which temporarily blocked the law from going into effect.[19] On January 22, 2019, the county district judge declared the law to be in violation of the Iowa Constitution and entered a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement.[11] In holding the law unconstitutional the judge cited the Iowa Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in a challenge to a different abortion restriction in which the state's court of last resort held that "a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution."[20] Anti-abortion proponents said they hoped this litigation created a pathway for Roe v. Wade to be reexamined by the U.S. Supreme Court, but University of Iowa law professor Paul Gowder and other legal experts said that it was almost impossible that it could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, as the U.S. Supreme Court does not review Supreme Court decisions concerning state constitutional questions.[21]

Anti-abortion legislators have filed legislation to amend the state constitution to state, "that the Constitution of the State of Iowa does not secure or protect a right to or require the funding of abortion."[22] The resolutions proposing to amend Iowa's constitutions are SJR 9 and HJR 5 which were filed on January 24, 2019, and February 6, 2019, respectively.[23][24]

On June 17, 2022, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution does not protect the right to an abortion.[25] Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in the majority that "All we hold today is that the Iowa Constitution is not the source of a fundamental right to an abortion necessitating a strict scrutiny standard of review for regulations affecting that right".[25] The court's decision is a reversal of its 2018 ruling, where it found that the constitution protects the right to an abortion.[25]

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) later in 2022.[26][27] Iowa instituted a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, and clinics lost staff, leading to a 13% decrease in legal abortions in Iowa within a year of the U.S. Supreme Court decision.[28]

In June 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a split decision (3-3) regarding a proposed 6-week abortion ban, meaning that the decision of a lower court not to enforce the ban was upheld; abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks. [29]

Clinic history edit

 
Number of abortion clinics in Iowa by year
See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by fourteen, going from 25 in 1982 to eleven in 1992.[30] In 2014, there were twelve abortion clinics in the state.[31] In 2014, 89% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 42% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[32]

In March 2016, there were 13 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[33] In 2017, there were eight Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 680,659 women aged 15–49 of which five offered abortion services.[9] In 2023, there were nine Planned Parenthood clinics, but Planned Parenthood said it would close three of them.[28]

Governor's 2020 Coronavirus emergency declaration edit

On March 26, 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds expanded upon previous COVID-19 disaster proclamations to halt elective and non-essential surgeries.[34] The following day her office asserted: "[The] Proclamation suspends all nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures until April 16th, that includes surgical abortion procedures".[35]

Statistics edit

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were no recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[36] In 1990, 302,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[30] In 2001, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin did not provide any residence related data regarding abortions performed in the state to the Centers for Disease Control.[37]

In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.[38] In 2010, the state had 23 publicly funded abortions, of which were three federally and twenty were state funded.[39] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 380 abortions, 60 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 0 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 60 abortions for women of all other races.[40]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[41]
Census division and state Number Rate % change 1992–1996
1992 1995 1996 1992 1995 1996
West North Central 57,340 48,530 48,660 14.3 11.9 11.9 –16
Iowa 6,970 6,040 5,780 11.4 9.8 9.4 –17
Kansas 12,570 10,310 10,630 22.4 18.3 18.9 –16
Minnesota 16,180 14,910 14,660 15.6 14.2 13.9 –11
Missouri 13,510 10,540 10,810 11.6 8.9 9.1 –21
Nebraska 5,580 4,360 4,460 15.7 12.1 12.3 –22
North Dakota 1,490 1,330 1,290 10.7 9.6 9.4 –13
South Dakota 1,040 1,040 1,030 6.8 6.6 6.5 –4
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
Location Residence Occurrence % obtained by
out-of-state residents 		Year Ref
No. Rate^ Ratio^^ No. Rate^ Ratio^^
Iowa 3,766 6.4 95 4,020 6.9 101 13.8 2014 [42]
Iowa 3,467 5.9 88 3,722 6.3 94 15.2 2016 [43]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Public opinion edit

In 2014, opinion was about evenly split. 52% of Iowa adults said abortion should be legal, while 46% said it should be illegal in all or most cases, according to a Pew Research Center poll.[44]

In a March 2020 poll by Selzer & Co, 48% of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 45% believe it should be illegal in all or most cases.[45]

In a September 2021 poll by Selzer & Co, 57% of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 39% believe it should be illegal in all or most cases.[46]

Abortion rights views and activities edit

 
Women's March (Iowa City) in 2017.

Protests edit

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[47][48] One protest occurred at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa on May 21, 2019.[49]

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, Iowa saw protests in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.[50][51] During a protest in Cedar Rapids near the U.S. District Court Federal Court House, a truck ran over a woman's foot. The driver of the truck was later arrested and charged with assault.[52] On July 22, an anti-abortion rights man was arrested after assaulting a group of abortion rights protesters in McGregor.[53]

In Des Moines, Iowa on July 11–12, 2023, a crowd of abortion rights protesters rallied as the Iowa state legislature passed a 6-week abortion ban, just weeks after a similar ban was struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court. Several abortion rights protesters were escorted out of the gallery by police after heckling the legislature.[54]

In Des Moines, Iowa on April 11, 2024, an abortion rights protest was held outside the state courthouse while the Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a proposed 6-week abortion ban.[55]

Anti-abortion rights views and activities edit

Activities edit

The Marriage Vow or "The Marriage Vow - A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family" is a political pledge created by Bob Vander Plaats, a former candidate for Iowa governor, and the Iowa-based conservative group; The Family Leader, a public advocacy organization affiliated with the Iowa Family Policy Center, that he heads.[56] The 2 most notable signatures came from Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann. Rick Santorum was the first presidential candidate to contact The Family Leader after the organization publicly announced the pledge. Michele Bachmann also contacted The Family Leader to sign the pledge, and became the first Candidate to send her signed document to the organization.[57] Although Newt Gingrich did not sign the pledge, he wrote a lengthy letter in which he upheld many of the principles of the pledge including personal fidelity to his wife, respecting the marital bonds of others, enforcing the defense of marriage act, to support a federal marriage amendment, and to oppose any definition of marriage outside of "one man and one woman."[58] The pledge was also signed by former Texas governor Rick Perry.[59]

Violence edit

On September 11, 2006, David McMenemy of Rochester Hills, Michigan, crashed his car into the Edgerton Women's Care Center in Davenport, Iowa. He then doused the lobby in gasoline and started a fire. McMenemy committed these acts in the belief that the center was performing abortions; however, Edgerton is not an abortion clinic.[60] Time magazine listed the incident in a "Top 10 Inept Terrorist Plots" list.[61]

Footnotes edit


References edit

  1. ^ "Iowa judge temporarily halts 6-week abortion law". ABC News. 17 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Des Moines Register". The Des Moines Register.
  3. ^ "Judge declares Iowa fetal heartbeat law unconstitutional". Associated Press. 23 January 2019.
  4. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (January 27, 2021). "Iowa House passes anti-abortion constitutional amendment — a goal that eluded Republicans last year". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  5. ^ Pitt, David (2022-06-17). "Iowa Supreme Court concludes abortion is not protected by the state constitution". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  6. ^ "Iowa Supreme Court deadlocks 3-3 on 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban. It won't go into effect". Des Moines Register. 16 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  8. ^ a b c d e Tavernise, Sabrina (2019-05-15). "'The Time Is Now': States Are Rushing to Restrict Abortion, or to Protect It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  9. ^ a b "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  10. ^ "Nearly all abortions banned in Iowa as Gov. Kim Reynolds signs 'fetal heartbeat' law". Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Leys, Tony (January 23, 2019). "Iowa 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional". USA Today. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "U.S. Department of Labor - Employment Protection For Workers Who Are Pregnant Or Nursing". www.dol.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  13. ^ Fingerhut, Hannah (2023-07-14). "Iowa Bans Most Abortions After 6 Weeks". HuffPost. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  14. ^ Wax-Thibodeaux, Emily; Roubein, Rachel; Ables, Kelsey (2023-07-12). "GOP-controlled Iowa legislature votes to ban abortion after about six weeks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  15. ^ "Iowa judge temporarily halts 6-week abortion law". www.abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  16. ^ "Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Emma Goldman Clinic, and Jill Meadows, M.d., V. Kim Reynolds ex rel. State of Iowa and Iowa Board of Medicine" (PDF). CourthouseNews.com. Courthouse News Service. May 15, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  17. ^ ACLU Iowa (May 15, 2018). "ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Emma Goldman Clinic File Lawsuit to Block Iowa Abortion Law". aclu.ia.org. American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Retrieved February 10, 2019. The lawsuit is being filed by the ACLU of Iowa and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America as co-counsel on behalf of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Dr Jill Meadows. The Emma Goldman Clinic of Iowa City is also a co-plaintiff in the case.
  18. ^ "ACLU, Planned Parenthood & Others File Lawsuit to Block Iowa Abortion Law". ACLU of Iowa. May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  19. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (June 1, 2018). "Judge temporarily blocks Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' law while lawsuit is resolved". Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  20. ^ Leys, Tony (January 23, 2019). "Iowa 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional". USA Today. Retrieved February 10, 2019. In his decision striking down the abortion law, Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert cited the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling last year in a challenge to a different abortion-restriction law. The high court held that "a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution" in that ruling.
  21. ^ "Republicans hope a challenge to Iowa's fetal heartbeat bill will overturn Roe v. Wade. How would that work?". Des Moines Register. May 1, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "Text of Senate Joint Resolution 9-Introduced". legis.iowa.gov. Iowa Legislature. Retrieved February 14, 2019. A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa that the Constitution of the State of Iowa does not secure or protect a right to or require the funding of abortion.
  23. ^ "IA SJR9 - 2019-2020 - 88th General Assembly". legiscan.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019. Introduced: on January 24, 2019
  24. ^ "IA HJR5 - 2019-2020 - 88th General Assembly". legiscan.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019. Introduced: on February 6, 2019
  25. ^ a b c Stracqualursi, Veronica (17 June 2022). "Iowa Supreme Court rules state constitution does not protect right to abortion". CNN. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  26. ^ de Vogue, Arinne (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  27. ^ Howe, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  28. ^ a b Sostaric, Katarina (June 28, 2023). "Planned Parenthood closing three Iowa clinics, expanding abortion services at others". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  29. ^ "Iowa Supreme Court deadlocks 3-3 on 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban. It won't go into effect". Des Moines Register. 16 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  31. ^ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  33. ^ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  34. ^ Richardson, Ian. "Iowa orders additional retail closures, halts elective and nonessential surgeries and dental procedures". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  35. ^ Rodriguez, Barbara. "Governor's office says order suspending 'non-essential' surgery includes halting surgical abortions". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  36. ^ Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
  37. ^ "Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2001". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  38. ^ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  39. ^ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  40. ^ "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  41. ^ Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  42. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
  43. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 31774741.
  44. ^ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  45. ^ Coltrain, Nick. "Iowa Poll: Iowans' support for legal abortion slips, but a majority oppose an anti-abortion constitutional amendment". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  46. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen. "Iowa Poll: Majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  47. ^ Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  48. ^ "Would overturning abortion rights turn back clock to 1973?". The Public's Radio. 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  49. ^ "Would overturning abortion rights turn back clock to 1973?". The Public's Radio. 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  50. ^ Morris, William; Akin, Katie (June 24, 2022). "Anger, 'absolute despair', hope among protesters marching in Des Moines against end of Roe v. Wade". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  51. ^ Tabick, Brian (July 1, 2022). "Cedar Rapids group protests Roe v. Wade decision". KCRG. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  52. ^ Campbell, Andy (August 9, 2022). "Arrest Made In Truck Ramming Of Protest For Abortion Rights In Iowa". Huffpost. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  53. ^ Smith, Zachary Oren (July 29, 2022). "McGregor man arrested for assaulting pro-abortion rights protesters". Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  54. ^ Bickerton, James (July 12, 2023). "Women Protest Iowa Abortion Law Inside Senate: 'We're Not Your Breeders'". Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  55. ^ Fingerhut, Hannah (April 11, 2024). "Iowa asks state Supreme Court to let its restrictive abortion law go into effect". Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  56. ^ "Marriage Vow" (PDF). The Family Leader. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  57. ^ PETROSKI, WILLIAM (8 July 2011). "Santorum, Bachmann, sign Family Leader's marriage vow". DesMoines Register. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  58. ^ Falcone, Michael (12 December 2011). "Newt Gingrich Pledges 'Personal Fidelity to My Spouse'". ABC. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  59. ^ Travis, Shannon (21 November 2011). "Perry signs Family Leader's controversial marriage vow". CNN. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  60. ^ "Man Crashes Into Davenport Health Clinic". Davenport, IA: KWQC-TV. September 13, 2006. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  61. ^ Fletcher, Dan. "Top 10 Inept Terrorist Plots" Time September 8, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
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