Iowa Could Become Abortion ‘Trigger Law’ State Under new Bill

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

By Keya Vakil

February 8, 2022

Iowa Republicans are once again setting their sights on abortion access, introducing a new bill on Tuesday that would automatically ban abortion in the state should the US Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.

House Rep. Skyler Wheeler’s proposed “trigger law” would take effect 30 days after such a ruling–which could happen this year, with the Supreme Court’s decision in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Mississippi has asked the Court to reverse all prior abortion decisions and allow states to individually decide their laws.

If the 6-3 conservative-controlled court sides with Mississippi, they could overturn Roe completely or in part, effectively leaving abortion up to the states. If that happens and Wheeler’s bill passes, Wheeler’s effort may still face a legal problem. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the state constitution protects a right to abortion—but there’s also a case pending considering a new 24-hour waiting period and new justices have joined the court since 2018.

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“This legislation makes it clear the ultimate goal of these extreme lawmakers is to ban abortion, which we’ve always known but is now undeniably confirmed,”  said Jamie Burch Elliott, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, in a statement. “Banning abortion would create an untenable situation for Iowans, forcing thousands to travel out of state for abortions if they can afford it. We cannot and will not accept a world where access to reproductive health care depends on where you live or how much money you make.”

This isn’t Wheeler’s first time drawing pushback. He’s previously tried to ban the teaching of the 1619 project, make it harder for people to access public benefits, and was so angry that the transgender flag flew outside the Capitol that he blasted it as the work of the “rainbow jihad.”

Most recently, he co-sponsored a bill that would require the Iowa Department of Education to sign off on every textbook, article, video or other educational material used in a public school’s social studies class, with a public review process for each following it. Now, he’s the latest Iowa Republican to take aim at women’s reproductive rights. 

The right to abortion has already been under attack in Iowa for years. Over the past decade, the Republican-controlled state government has banned most abortions after 20 weeks, banned Medicaid funding for most abortions, and forced women seeking abortions to get an ultrasound.

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Republicans also tried to ban abortions after six weeks and attempted to force women to wait 72 hours after seeing a provider to get an abortion, but these efforts were ultimately overturned by the courts. Just last week, Republicans introduced a new bill requiring providers to report complications from abortions, make changes to the current abortion reporting requirements, and create a database that documents abortions in Iowa.

The onslaught of Republican attacks on women’s reproductive rights have made it more difficult for women to get abortions in Iowa. In 2017, there were only nine facilities providing abortions in Iowa, a 33% decline from 2014, according to the Guttmacher Institute. As a result, more than half (58%) of Iowa women lived in counties that had no abortion clinics in 2017.

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But, as the Iowa Capitol Dispatch reported in December, the state Supreme Court is currently considering whether a GOP-backed 24-hour waiting period for abortions is legal–a case which could lead to a reversal of the 2018 standard. The court’s make-up has changed since that verdict, with Gov. Kim Reynolds appointing four new conservative justices to the seven-judge court since 2018. 

Iowa Republicans have also proposed a constitutional amendment that would make clear Iowa “does not recognize, grant, or secure a right to abortion or require the public funding of abortion.” The Iowa state legislature passed the amendment last year–an effort Wheeler was involved with–but for it to become law, the next General Assembly would have to approve it again in 2023 and then put it on the ballot for Iowa voters to decide. 

Nearly six in 10 Iowans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a September poll from the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa.

 

By Keya Vakil
2/08/22

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  • Keya Vakil

    Keya Vakil is the deputy political editor at COURIER. He previously worked as a researcher in the film industry and dabbled in the political world.

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