Iowa Supreme Court hears arguments in abortion case

The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over legislative attempts to require that women wait 24 hours before receiving an abortion.

In 2020, the Iowa Legislature approved the waiting period, only to have abortion provider Planned Parenthood sue the state. That resulted in a district court judge blocking enforcement of the law while citing a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that said the Iowa Constitution guarantees a right to abortion.

Republican lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds fought back by challenging the district court ruling. A lawyer for the governor and the state argued Wednesday that the state Supreme Court should take the opportunity to “correct its 2018 decision” and find that there is no state constitutional guarantee of abortion rights.

Rita Bettis Austen, the attorney representing Planned Parenthood, suggested to the justices Wednesday that the issue of constitutionality need not be revisited, and argued that the 2020 legislation imposing a waiting period violates the so-called “single subject” requirement for new legislation because it was packaged with an unrelated bill and passed with little public notice.

Read more: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/02/23/iowa-supreme-court-hears-arguments-in-abortion-case/