The following statement can be attributed to ACLU of Iowa Executive Director Mark Stringer.
We are outraged that the Iowa Legislature has forced through what is essentially a complete abortion ban for most women, which would be the most restrictive abortion law in the country. It bans abortions for women where any fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is so early in the pregnancy that many women don’t even know that they are pregnant.
It’s clear that the goal of this legislation is to overturn Roe v. Wade, ultimately banning all abortions. It would take Iowa women back nearly a half-century to a dark era, a time where desperate women sought out or performed home abortions and died as a result. Along with our partner organizations, the ACLU of Iowa will stand with Iowa women to protect their fundamental right to control their bodies and their lives.
It’s especially disturbing that the passage of this bill comes at a time when Iowa legislators have also led a devastating assault on access to family planning and contraception, especially for poor and rural women. They are imposing their own strict religious and moral codes on the entire state, with tragic results.
