Iowa's law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy went into effect this morning.
At 8 a.m. Monday in Iowa, the state will join more than a dozen others where abortion access has been sharply curbed in the roughly two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, projected last month that about 20,000 abortions were performed in Kansas in 2023, or 152% more than in 2020. Near Iowa, Illinois saw a 71% increase and Minnesota went up 49%. Providers there expect to see more influx after Monday.
Iowa’s abortion providers have been fighting this outcome, while shoring up abortion access in neighboring states and drawing on the lessons learned where bans went into effect more swiftly.
Iowa's Legislature approved the law last year, but a judge blocked it from being enforced shortly after the measure went into effect because of a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood, and the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City.
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. The district court judge’s July 22 orders set July 29 as the first day of enforcement.
The law prohibits abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is roughly at six weeks of pregnancy and before many know they are pregnant. There are limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or when the life of the mother is in danger. Previously, abortion in Iowa was legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 44% of the 3,761 total abortions in Iowa in 2021 occurred at or before six weeks. Only six abortions were at the 21-week mark or later.
Across the country, the status of abortion has changed constantly since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with trigger laws immediately going into effect, states passing new restrictions or expansions of access and court battles putting those on hold.
In states with restrictions, the main abortion options are getting pills via telehealth or underground networks and traveling, vastly driving up demand in states with more access.