Iowa Supreme Court erases state constitutional right to abortion - Ruling leaves Iowa open for an abortion ban if Roe is overturned

The Iowa Supreme Court found there is no state constitutional right to an abortion, reversing a previous decision in a ruling Friday.

The decision leaves Iowa open to an abortion ban or heightened restrictions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns federal protections in a ruling expected this month.

The new interpretation of abortion law in Iowa’s constitution comes from a decision in an appeal by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland of Iowa’s 24-hour waiting period for patients seeking an abortion. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision to block the law after receiving an appeal from the state. It also used the opportunity to revisit a 2018 ruling that for the first time declared a constitutional right to abortion in the state constitution.

The court did not put the waiting period into effect, however, but instead required a new lower-court review based on Friday’s decision. The court held that the U.S. Supreme Court’s “undue burden” standard still holds, which requires that abortion restrictions not place a “substantial obstacle” in front of a woman seeking an abortion.

“Although we overrule (the 2018 precedent), and thus reject the proposition that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in Iowa’s Constitution subjecting abortion regulation to strict scrutiny, we do not at this time decide what constitutional standard should replace it,” the Iowa Supreme Court Justice Edward Mansfield wrote.

Republicans argued the 2018 decision in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Reynolds was an overreach. Last year, they made the first step toward amending Iowa’s state constitution to no longer protect the right.

Friday’s decision also acknowledged the forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on a high-profile abortion case in Mississippi. Documents leaked in May suggested the court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, two landmark cases establishing federal abortion rights.

Under previous Iowa constitutional law, that federal decision would not impact Iowans’ rights to access abortion. Now, state legislators could pass more stringent restrictions on abortion – including a complete ban of the procedure – if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the current precedent.

Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the Iowa court’s ruling Friday.

“Today’s ruling is a significant victory in our fight to protect the unborn,” Reynolds said in a news release. “The Iowa Supreme Court reversed its earlier 2018 decision, which made Iowa the most abortion-friendly state in the country. Every life is sacred and should be protected, and as long as I’m governor that is exactly what I will do.”

The Iowa Supreme Court has changed significantly since its 2018 ruling: Four of the seven justices were appointed by Reynolds. These appointments came after the governor signed a law changing the state’s justice selection process. Where Iowa’s justices were previously selected from a non-partisan commission, the governor now has more control over naming commission members.

Republican governors appointed six of the seven current Iowa Supreme Court justices.