Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue to block Iowa’s heartbeat abortion ban, it’s ‘dangerous’ ‘beyond extreme’
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have filed a joint lawsuit that seeks to challenge Iowa’s new law that bans abortion from the time a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually six weeks.
Rita Bettis, ACLU of Iowa legal director referred to the law as “dangerous.”
“This abortion ban is beyond extreme,” she said, reports the Sioux City Journal. “In the 45 years since (Roe v. Wade), no federal or state court has upheld such a dangerous law.”
Twitter: “BREAKING: Iowa women’s rights groups, including the @ACLU, have filed a lawsuit to block Iowa’s new 6-week #abortion ban. #WeWontGoBack http://ow.ly/wXRy30k0Cs4” – @ACLUIowa.
“The complaint presents the medical facts that this law will make safe and legal abortion virtually disappear in Iowa,” added Alice Clapman, an attorney representing Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she anticipated the lawsuits when she signed Senate file 359.
“I understand and anticipate that this will likely be challenged in court, and that courts may even put a hold on the law until it reaches the Supreme Court,” she said. “However, this is bigger than just a law. This is about life. I am not going to back down from who I am or what I believe in.”
“The lawsuit was expected, and the growing pro-life movement isn’t deterred by it,” Drew Zahn, director of communications for the Family Leader organization, also said, according to the Journal. “In fact, we welcome the courts hearing the debate on the question of when life begins. It’s long overdue that America looked at the evidence and recognized that the little child in her mother’s womb … she’s a baby.”
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, said he would refuse to represent his state in defense of the new law. Reynolds will be represented by the Thomas More Society at no cost to Iowa taxpayers.
[…] while abortion bans or limits (Iowa’s heartbeat bill or Mississippi’s 15 week ban) may land at the Supreme Court, what is likely is the type of […]