The 2018 law was blocked by a district court, and its ruling was affirmed in 2019 by the Iowa Supreme Court. Their decision involved an interpretation that the Iowa Constitution created a right to abortion, but that interpretation (and Roe v. Wade) has since been overturned. Those rulings prompted Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) to ask the court to reinstate the pro-life law.
Justice Thomas Waterman wrote on behalf of the justices who voted against reinstating the law, “In our view it is legislating from the bench to take a statute that was moribund when it was enacted and has been enjoined for four years and then to put it in effect.”
He further wrote that the ruling was procedural, and Iowa could legally enforce an identical law if it was passed today.
“To say that today’s lack of action by the Iowa Supreme Court is a disappointment is an understatement.” Gov. Reynolds said in a press release.
“Not only does it disregard Iowa voters who elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of unborn children, but it has sided with a single judge in a single county who struck down Iowa’s legislation based on principles that now have been flat-out rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. There is no fundamental right to abortion and any law restricting it should be reviewed on a rational basis standard – a fact acknowledged today by three of the justices. Still, without an affirmative decision, there is no justice for the unborn.“But the fight is not over. There is no right more sacred than life, and nothing more worthy of our strongest defense than the innocent unborn. We are reviewing our options in preparation for continuing the fight.”
