By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A ban on most abortions in Iowa is now on hold.

A Polk County district court judge has issued a temporary injunction that blocks enforcement of the abortion restrictions that Governor Reynolds signed into law Friday.

Sharon Wegner, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, which is representing two abortion providers challenging the law. “This decision was incredibly important because it means that, for now, abortion in Iowa remains safe and legal,” she said during an online news conference late this afternoon. “…We know Iowans stand with us in wanting to protect abortion rights and keep politicians out of doctor-patient decision making.”

The legislature met in a one-day special session last Tuesday and passed a bill to ban most abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around the sixth week of pregnancy.
“This law bans abortion before many people know that they are pregnant,” Wegner said, “…and as such it violates the state constitution under the ‘undue burden’ standard that the Iowa Supreme Court has made clear is the governing standard for now.”

In a written statement, Governor Reynolds said the “abortion industry is trying to thwart the will of the people: who elected her and the Republican majorities in the legislature. Reynolds said she will fight this case “all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court,” where Reynolds said she expects “a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.”

Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of North Central States, told reporters her staff made hundreds of phone calls late last week to reschedule abortion appointments.

“While we know that the state may seek an appeal, we are proud to resume services for our patients and provide patient outreach to help break through the manufactured chaos that is our new normal,” she said.

The injunction was issued Monday afternoon. Iowa law currently requires a 24 hour waiting period for abortions, so Wednesday is the earliest that elective abortions can be scheduled.

Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin said the ban on most abortions created “irreparable harm,” but his ruling also allows the Iowa Board of Medicine to start writing rules to enforce the ban. Seidlin wrote that there are “honorable and intelligent people…on both sides of this upsetting societal and constitutional dilemma.”

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

The 2024 Iowa Caucuses are now a little less than six months away and the intensity of the GOP presidential contest is growing.

About 2000 evangelical Christians heard from six candidates Friday in Des Moines. Former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson interviewed each candidate onstage, with the war in Ukraine as the top topic.

Bob Vander Plaats is president and CEO of The Family Leader, the group that hosted the event. He urged the crowd to look for an authentic candidate.

“God has called us for such a time as this. Pinch yourself! We’re on a front row seat of this. He has us in the crosshairs of it,” Vander Plaats said. “…Raise up a standard bearer that we can cheer on and tell our kids and grandkids: ‘Grow up to be like him.’”

Vander Plaats has said it’s time for the GOP to “turn the page” from former President Trump. David Johnson of Grimes, who was at the Family Leadership Summit, said he’s tired of the way Trump is acting these days.

“I was a big Trump supporter for the last two times he ran, but I’m just wearying of his meanness, for lack of a better word,” Johnson said. “He wants to throw anybody under the bus who ever disagrees with him about any aspect of anything.”

Trump is due in Cedar Rapids tomorrow to tape a program with Sean Hannity that will air on the Fox News Channel. It’s Trump’s first appearance here after complaining last week that Governor Kim Reynolds is maintaining neutrality in the 2024 presidential race, after he endorsed her in 2018. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said some of the Iowans he met this weekend were riled by Trump’s remarks about Reynolds.

“I think she’s been a model public servant,” DeSantis said this weekend, “and anybody who’s a Republican that’s trying to denigrate her I think is way off base on that.”

DeSantis has joined the list of candidates who say they’ll visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties before the Caucuses.

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Governor Kim Reynolds plans to sign a bill into law at 2:15 this afternoon that will ban most abortions in Iowa. There’ll be a court hearing less than an hour before that for a lawsuit that seeks to at least temporarily block the law from taking effect.

A very similar law, signed by Governor Reynolds on May 4, 2018, never went in effect due to a court injunction. The governor’s request that the Iowa Supreme Court lift that injunction failed on a three-to-three tie among the justices. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver said the state’s highest court has never ruled on whether a six week abortion ban is constitutional and that’s why the legislature passed the same proposal, again, on Tuesday.

“They have ruled on procedural matters and other bills that we have passed. They have never answered this question,” Whitver said. “…I would expect it will go back to the Supreme Court and we will get a final answer on where the Supreme Court stands.”

It’s unclear when the district court judge may rule on the request for an injunction to block the law from taking effect. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst said if the law goes into effect this afternoon, even for a few hours or a few days, it will create chaos.

“Doctors won’t know what to do, patients won’t know what to do,” Konfrst said. “There will be questions and — most importantly — there will be inconsistent care across the state because different doctors will interpret it differently.”

Konfrst and other Democrats say the bill fails to provide clear guidance to doctors about when they may and may not perform an abortion in medical emergencies.