The Iowa Supreme Court ruled (4-to-3) in favor of a 6-week abortion ban in June. Prior to that, abortion had been legal in Iowa up to about 22 weeks of pregnancy.
The legislation — which took effect today, Monday, July 29 — includes exceptions in the case of rape or incest, and to save the life of the mother.
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who signed the legislation, celebrated the 6-week ban as “a victory for life.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, wrote on X: “This morning, more than 1.5 million women in Iowa woke up with fewer rights than they had last night because of another Trump Abortion Ban.”
[NOTE: Democrats are labelling all state-enacted abortion bans or restrictions as “Trump Abortion Bans” because of the former President’s appointment of three Supreme Court Justices — Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh — who were critical in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a ruling Trump has boasted about.]
As seen in the video below, Harris has vowed to “sign a law restoring and protecting reproductive freedom in every state.”
More than 1 in 3 women of reproductive age in America now live in a state with a Trump abortion ban.
When I am President of the United States, I will sign a law restoring and protecting reproductive freedom in every state. pic.twitter.com/ka8f8zI145
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 29, 2024
Note: Reynolds, who initially endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — who also signed a 6-week abortion ban in 2023 — when he ran for the GOP presidential nomination is now 100 percent behind former President Donald Trump’s campaign. See below at the Republican National Convention where Reynolds flaunted her “new MAGA merch.”
Got some AMAZING merch!! pic.twitter.com/dnHKY8ClYU
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) July 19, 2024
At the Convention, Reynolds promised to “deliver Iowa” for Trump, who won the red state in both 2020 (53 percent) and 2016 (51 percent).
LET’S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! We will deliver IOWA! pic.twitter.com/bGjwVmePRD
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) July 19, 2024
The last times the majority of Iowans voted for a Democratic presidential nominee was in 2012 and 2008 — both times for Barack Obama, who last week endorsed Harris after President Joe Biden announced that he will no longer seek re-election.