Iowa: Planned Parenthood, ACLU lead fight to abort 5 month and older babies, end waiting periods
While fighting before the vote, Planned Parenthood and ACLU worked hard to keep the right to abortion after 20 weeks and block a proposed 72-hour waiting period. The Iowa Supreme Court will decide whether to keep a temporary injunction in place that lifted the mandatory 72-hour waiting period women must follow before receiving an abortion, but the ban is in place.
“We will continue to provide services but are in a holding pattern,” said Rachel Lopez, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, stating that the state’s injunction, potentially impacts “dozens and dozens of women,” with scheduled abortions.
Gov. Terry Branstad signed the legislation on Friday which allowed Iowa to join 19 other states who approved similar 20-week bans.
Tthe Iowa Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction against enforcing the three-day waiting period, which allowed the 44 women who already had procedures scheduled for Friday to obtain them.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office argued that the waiting period does not create irreparable harm to women seeking abortions, adding the only harm patients will suffer is the “denial of a right to abortion on demand.”
“They do not claim that they will be unable to reschedule any of these women in a timely fashion, nor do they claim that any of these women will face increased travel costs, employment consequences or the inability to receive a medication or surgical abortion … .”
Most advocates for abortion and Democrats call such bans and restrictions as “extreme” as they fight for the right to end pregnancies after the 5 month point when science points to pain receptors being fully formed and the baby able to feel pain.
“Extreme abortion bans will do nothing to lower the number of abortions,” Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City said. “Remember that abortions are a legal procedure in Iowa.”