Pro-abortion groups drop legal challenge to Iowa’s ‘Heartbeat Law’

(NRL News Today) A big victory for the good guys after a long, long battle.

On Thursday, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the ACLU of Iowa, and the Emma Goldman Clinic opted to forgo “a continued legal battle after the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s strict abortion law and reiterated that there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the state,” Hannah Fingerhut reported for the Associated Press.

Iowa’s [prenatal] heartbeat law protects most unborn babies after [prenatal] heart activity can be detected — at about six weeks [gestation]. There are exceptions for incest or to save the life of the mother.

On June 28, 2024, after the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the law, pro-life Gov. Kim Reynolds, who had worked assiduously since 2018 to have such a law passed, called the decision “a victory for life.”

“As the fetal heartbeat law finally takes effect, our work will continue to strengthen a culture of life in Iowa,” Gov. Reynolds said in a statement. “I remain deeply committed to supporting women in planning for motherhood, promoting the importance of fatherhood, elevating adoption, and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF). Families are the foundation of society, and policies that encourage strong families will make our state and country strong for generations to come.”

In 2019, Judge Michael Huppert “had blocked the law from taking effect, finding that under Iowa Supreme Court precedent, the state could not enact a law imposing an ‘undue burden’ on a woman’s ability to terminate a pre-viability pregnancy,” William Morris reported for the rabidly pro-abortion Des Moines Register.

“That changed in June [2024] when the Supreme Court reversed the district court’s injunction and declared the law could be enforced. In doing so, the justices ruled 4-3 that the state need only show a ‘rational basis’ for laws restricting abortion, a much lower bar for legislators seeking to limit or eliminate abortion access. The law formally took effect July 29.”

Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said that further litigation was unlikely to produce a different result.

The Iowa Supreme Court majority decision was written by Justice Matthew McDermott, joined by Justices Dana Oxley, David May and Christopher McDonald. It held that laws restricting abortion are only unconstitutional if the state cannot show a “rational basis” for the law.

Justice Matthew McDermott said they hold that abortion is not a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution.

“A right to an abortion, as the historical record shows, is not rooted at all in our state’s history and tradition, let alone ‘deeply” rooted.

“We conclude that the fetal heartbeat statute is rationally related to the state’s legitimate interest in protecting unborn life.”

Editor’s Note: This article was published at NRL News Today and is reprinted here with permission.

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