Iowa Supreme Court Rules Abortion Protections Not Promised Under State Constitution; Abortion is Not Protected by State Constitution: Reverses decision handed down in 2018 upholding abortion rights

Iowa Supreme Court rules abortion protections not promised under state constitution:

The Iowa Supreme Court overruled a 2018 decision that shielded abortion under the state's constitution, a move that removes guardrails from lawmakers who seek to ban future abortions in the state.

"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," the court ruled.

Iowa's Supreme Court, whose justices are all Republican appointees, concluded that the 2018 court wrongly decided abortion is a fundamental privacy right guaranteed by state and federal law.

The decision on Friday stemmed from a lawsuit filed by abortion providers who challenged a 2020 law that required a full day waiting period before a woman could get an abortion. Judge Mitchell E. Turner previously struck down the law and cited the state high court’s 2018 ruling. --->READ MORE HERE

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File

Iowa Supreme Court: Abortion is not protected by state constitution

Reverses decision handed down in 2018 upholding abortion rights

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or even ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.

The court, now composed almost entirely of Republican appointees, concluded that a less conservative court wrongly decided that abortion is among the fundamental privacy rights guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution and federal law.

Friday’s ruling comes amid expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Then Iowa lawmakers could ban abortion in the state without completing the lengthy process of amending the state constitution.

The Iowa decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by abortion providers who challenged a 2020 law that required a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. A judge who struck down the law cited the state high court’s 2018 ruling. The judge also concluded that the law violated rules prohibiting passage of bills with more than one subject. --->READ MORE HERE

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