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DES MOINES Republicans are applauding the impact of an Iowa law that banned the majority of abortions in the state a year after it went into effect, while Democrats caution that the limits will continue to restrict access to reproductive health care throughout the state.
A new state law that forbids abortions if cardiac activity in the embryo can be discovered, usually at six weeks, often before the parent is aware of the pregnancy, entered into force one year ago on Tuesday.
After several rounds of legislation and legal proceedings, the law—passed by statehouse Republicans—went into effect on July 29, 2024.
According to state data, the number of abortions performed in Iowa has decreased by more than half in the past year, while clinics and advocacy groups report that the number of Iowa women going to adjacent states for abortions has risen in certain instances.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds commemorated the one-year anniversary of the new state law in a statement released on Tuesday, pointing to the state’s initiatives to support new moms in Iowa as well as the decline in abortions in the state during the previous 12 months.
In her statement, Reynolds stated, “This is a powerful victory for life, and it’s all because Iowans and their representatives stood strong for the rights of the unborn.” She also mentioned that the law was passed twice by statehouse Republicans, in 2018 and 2023.
Reynolds cited state initiatives that support crisis pregnancy centers, Medicaid-covered postpartum care for mothers, paid parental leave for state employees, funding for rural maternal health centers, and Medicaid reimbursement for complicated pregnancies as examples of Iowa’s stronger-than-ever commitment to mothers and their babies, both before and after delivery.
According to Reynolds, this is what it means to be fully pro-life: showing love and support to all those involved in a pregnancy, encouraging strong families, and purposefully fostering a culture of life.
During an Iowa Democratic Party press conference Tuesday morning, Iowa Democratic officials criticized the new state law, claiming that it significantly limits Iowans’ access to reproductive health care and personal autonomy.
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner of Iowa City stated during the press conference that Republican lawmakers in this state have repeatedly demonstrated that there is no proposal too radical or step too far in their quest to have complete control over women’s bodies, despite strong public opposition. As Democrats, we firmly and resolutely believe that Iowans should be able to make their own health care decisions without interference or intervention from the government.
Des Moines’ House Minority Leader Brian Meyer voiced worries about the law’s privacy and legal ramifications, saying he thinks it puts politics in the way of patients’ and healthcare providers’ decisions.
The woman and the doctor should be the only ones making decisions in the doctor’s office. “Unfortunately, we have added others to this bill,” Meyer stated. We have included the hospital’s attorneys and Republican legislators.
In its first year, the new law has increased health care barriers for Iowans, made it more difficult for healthcare facilities to hire OB-GYNs, and caused uncertainty among doctors who fear legal repercussions for performing abortions to save a patient’s life, according to Emily Boevers, an OB-GYN at Waverly Health Center in northwest Iowa.
The number of OB-GYNs in Iowa has dropped by 4.1% between 2019 and 2023, according to a report released early this year by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to the new limits being enacted, Iowa had the lowest ratio of obstetrics and gynecology experts per population in the US.
According to Boevers, this law does not forbid abortion as a need, an act, or a choice. To the continual damage of our families and communities, it merely penalizes Iowan women for making decisions about their own health and families by making them deal with obstacles, expenses, and arbitrary deadlines. It also undermines their own lived experience and physiological competence.
In order to motivate voters in the wake of Roe v. Wade, national and state Democrats focused a lot of their campaigning on abortion rights and made links between Iowa’s new law and access to reproductive health care. In the end, the party lost seats nationwide and in the state.
However, Weiner stated that the party will keep addressing the topic with voters in the lead-up to 2026, pointing out that abortion restrictions are directly related to the Medicaid funding cuts in the recently passed federal budget reconciliation, which she claims is a major concern for voters.
“Everyone in this state and their access to care is affected when our federal representatives and senators in Washington vote to roll back Medicaid coverage, which will have an even greater impact on rural hospitals, nursing homes, and ultimately our urban hospitals,” Weiner said. Abortion prohibitions were the catalyst for that, as when it appears that taking away one’s right or access to healthcare is acceptable, it opens the door.
