Judge blocks Iowa law banning abortions after detectable fetal heartbeat
An Iowa judge has temporarily blocked a new law prohibiting most abortions in the state after the unborn child's heartbeat becomes detectable just a few days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it into law.
In his Monday ruling for the Polk County District Court, Judge Joseph Seidlin noted the similarities between the recent heartbeat ban and a bill passed by state lawmakers in 2018, with the Iowa Supreme Court in June allowing a lower court's block against it to remain.
The bill, HF 732, bans all abortions around six weeks of pregnancy, usually when the unborn child's heartbeat becomes detectable. Now that the ban is blocked, abortion remains legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy in Iowa.
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Seidlin wrote, "this court does not get to declare that our Supreme Court got it wrong and then impose a different standard. Such would be an alarming exercise of judicial activism. This court is bound to decide this matter pursuant to the instruction of our Supreme Court."
The judge's ruling follows a challenge Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed against the new abortion ban last Wednesday to prevent the enforcement of the law.
"Protections for babies with beating hearts are so important to Iowans, lawmakers passed them again in a special session called by Governor Reynolds," Adam Schwend, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's western regional director, said in a Monday statement.
"The Fetal Heartbeat Act was poised to save thousands of lives from cruel, painful abortions," Schwend continued. "Activist judges must stop interfering on behalf of the radical abortion lobby and respect the will of the people. We proudly stand with Gov. Reynolds, the Legislature and all our Iowa allies in the ongoing fight to protect life and support moms."
Reynolds' office also released a statement promising to take the issue to the Iowa Supreme Court.
"In their own words, the abortion industry stressed the need for a temporary injunction so they could continue with 200 scheduled abortions in the next two weeks," Reynolds said about the abortion proponents' legal challenge to the law. "While Life was protected for a few days, now even more innocent babies will be lost."
"The abortion industry's attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today, but I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn," she concluded.
Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, celebrated the temporary injunction against the heartbeat ban in a Monday tweet, describing the ruling as "GOOD NEWS."
"For now, abortion remains safe and legal in Iowa," the corporation stated. "This fight isn't over."
The ACLU of Iowa also reacted to the decision in a series of tweets Monday, stressing that "patients across Iowa will be able to access abortion care and retain control over their futures." The legal advocacy group added that state residents support their efforts to "protect abortion rights" and "keep politicians out of doctor-patient decision-making."
The heartbeat bill, which Reynolds signed on Friday, passed the House of Representatives in a 56-34 vote and the Senate in a 32-17 vote. While the ban prohibits abortions after a detectable fetal heartbeat, it allows for exceptions in pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or if a physician determines the unborn is "incompatible with life."
Reynolds signed the bill at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa last week. The Iowa governor declared during the signing that "the most important human rights cause of our time" is "protecting unborn human lives from the atrocity of abortion."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
