Iowa governor asks court to allow blocked 2018 abortion ban

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds asked the state courts on Thursday to allow her to implement a law banning most abortions that a judge permanently blocked in 2019.

Reynolds previously said she would turn to the courts instead of calling a special session to hold a divisive abortion debate and vote just months before she and several other Republican leaders run for reelection. The court filing is just the first step in a legal battle that could take months to resolve and end up before the Iowa Supreme Court again.

The 2018 law bans abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. An Iowa law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy remains in effect while Reynolds pursues the tougher ban in court.

Reynolds’ lawyers argue that since the U.S. Supreme Court and the Iowa Supreme Court have now removed broad constitutional protections for abortion rights, the previous order should be removed and the law enforced.

“The historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe has given us a new hope and pathway forward to challenge the Iowa court’s previous decision,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Life and death are determined by a person’s heartbeat, and I believe that includes our unborn children."

Laws such as Iowa's ban abortion when a “fetal heartbeat” can be detected, though that does not easily translate to medical science. That’s because at the point where advanced technology can detect that first visual flutter, the embryo isn’t yet a fetus, and it doesn’t have a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus eight weeks after fertilization.

Iowa's law contains exceptions for medical emergencies including threats to the mother’s life, rape, incest, and fetal abnormality.

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