Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday called a special legislative session that she said would be devoted solely to enacting “pro-life legislation.”
the republican governor advertisement It comes weeks after the Iowa Supreme Court issued a divided decision on the six-week abortion ban she had proposed in 2018. The ruling allowed abortion to remain legal until about the 20th week of pregnancy.
Reynolds said Wednesday that the session will meet on July 11 and suggested that she and the GOP-controlled Legislature are likely to codify tougher restrictions on abortion.
“Iowans have elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of the unborn and, in doing so, have voted forcefully for pro-life principles and against the wanton destruction of innocent and defenseless life,” Reynolds said. it’s a statement.
Referring to the state high court’s split decision, Reynolds added that “this inaction ignores the will of Iowa voters and legislators who will not rest until the unborn are protected by law.”
“I believe that the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time,” he said.
How the Iowa Legislature proceeds is likely to have broader ramifications for national politics. With Iowa set to be the first state to hold Republican caucuses for the 2024 presidential race, Republican candidates already sweeping the state will be asked for their input on the proposed new restrictions.
Depending on what the Legislature proposes, it could be a challenge for Republicans, who have often struggled to speak to voters about abortion rights in the year since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling.
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 3-3 ruling last month meant the high court failed to reach a majority to decide whether to overturn a lower court decision blocking Reynolds’ effort to reinstate a six-week abortion ban from 2018.
That so-called “heartbeat bill” banned abortions in the state in the sixth week of pregnancy, or when, in some cases, the fetal pulse can be heard for the first time through an ultrasound.
While numerous states have enacted six-week bans in the year since the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the 2018 Iowa law was the most restrictive in the US at the time.
