Iowa governor plans to appeal block on restrictive abortion law

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says plans are in progress to appeal a temporary block on the state’s new, restrictive abortion law, previewing a likely emotional court battle that could take months to resolve

Abortion Iowa (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Tuesday that plans are in progress to appeal a temporary block on the state's new, restrictive abortion law, previewing a likely emotional court battle that could take months to resolve.

Reynolds told reporters at the Iowa Capitol that her staff is working with lawyers in Attorney General Brenna Bird's office to work out the details, so “it's just a matter of time,” she said.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy during a special session last week, and it went into effect Friday, immediately after Reynolds signed it. The ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic launched a legal challenge and on Monday, Judge Joseph Seidlin granted their request to pause the law as the courts assess its constitutionality.

Abortion providers said they scrambled to fit in as many appointments as possible before the governor signed the bill, making hundreds of calls to prepare patients for the uncertainty and keeping clinics open late.

After the ruling, providers at Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic indicated they were relieved but conscious of the long legal fight ahead.

“I think the bill that we passed is constitutional, especially with the changes that we’ve seen," said Reynolds, who alluded to the Iowa Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court reversing previous rulings that affirmed a woman's fundamental right to abortion.

“We passed it, it went into law, and for three days we were saving babies,” she said. “I think the right to life is the most important right that we have.”