Can anything be done legally to stop Iowa’s abortion ban?

After Friday’s ruling, the legal options to stop Iowa’s abortion ban are limited, but they do exist.

While the legal battle over Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Republicans near-total abortion ban isn’t quite over, the chances of overturning the ban via the courts are slim based on Friday’s ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The four justices who ruled in the majority opinion to overturn the legal injunction that temporarily halted the ban—which blocks abortions before most people know they are pregnant—used the “rational basis” test. This test provides the lowest level of scrutiny and the lowest level of constitutional protection.

“This is the same level of scrutiny that’s applied to traffic camera laws,” said Rita Bettis Austen, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa, during a Friday press conference.

Under rational basis, the courts consider if a law has legitimate state interest or if there is a rational connection between the law’s means and goals.

“It doesn’t even have to be the legislature’s reason … it would still be upheld if there is a rational basis for passing the law,” said Sally Frank, a Drake Law School professor and expert on abortion law. 

In this case, the state of Iowa successfully argued that the rational basis for the abortion ban was “protecting unborn human life at all stages of development.” The court agreed with this notion and cited the Dobbs’ decision to back its point that this is a legitimate state interest.

Bettis Austen was vague on what legal steps the Iowa ALCU, one of the plaintiffs in the suit to block the abortion ban, would take next.

“We will be looking at the opinion carefully and considering all of the options with an eye toward protecting access to the degree possible however we can; that being said, we cannot forecast any litigation strategy today,” she said.

Iowa’s near-total abortion ban is expected to start being enforced by July 20, and that could open up future legal opportunities, but they won’t be ideal, Frank noted.

“As it’s in effect formal and women die or come near death, there can be suits as there is one pending in Texas about how the exceptions make no sense and put women at great risk,” Frank said. “There may also be as applied some religious arguments.”

Frank said there are some pro-choice religious arguments, and there may also be an opportunity to test out Iowa’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFFA) law.

Passed in March, Iowa’s RFFA law is modeled partly after the federal version, which “prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion.”

In Judaism, for example, a fetus isn’t considered separate from the parent’s body “until birth begins and the first breath of oxygen into the lungs allows the soul to enter the body,” and preventing a Jewish woman from having an abortion after six weeks could be considered religious discrimination. 

“The real challenge has to be more political than legal,” Frank said.

With Republicans firmly in control of all three branches of Iowa’s government, Frank said the best way to reverse the ban and legalize abortion access is by electing people who support reproductive rights; otherwise, more restrictions could be coming.

“They’ve been emboldened by this ruling,” Frank said.

Frank thinks that Iowa Republicans may go for a total abortion ban with a life of the mother exception in a future legislative session should they retain power. This was the law in Iowa before the US Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling on Roe vs Wade.

“Then the question is also are they going to try to ban travel as some states have tried to,” Frank said. “Are they going to try to ban medical abortion pills from getting into the state?  Are they going to try to ban people from advising people about abortion?

“I’ve seen all of these in other states, and I wouldn’t put any of them past the current right-wing radical government we have in Iowa.”

Abortion Access in Iowa:

If you are in Iowa and need access to abortion care, read this story by Nikoel Hytrek to learn more about your options:

How to get an abortion if you live in Iowa