Iowa's GOP-led legislature passes 6-week abortion ban


The Republican-controlled legislature in Iowa passed a bill on Tuesday night that bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who called a special session so lawmakers could vote on curtailing abortion rights, will sign the bill into law on Friday, her office said. It passed the House 56-34 and the Senate 32-17, with both votes primarily along party lines.
The bill would ban abortions after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy; the Des Moines Register noted that the legislation is "nearly identical to a law signed by Reynolds in 2018, which was permanently blocked by the courts." Under current Iowa law, abortions are allowed up to 20 weeks after conception or 22 weeks after the last menstrual period.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Opponents and supporters of the bill gathered at the state capitol on Tuesday, with several having to be removed from the gallery by state troopers, the Register reported. Many chanted against the bill, and yelled "Shame!" after the legislation passed. A Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted in March found that a majority of people in Iowa — 61% — think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, with 35% saying they think it should be illegal in all or most cases.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Prevost elected first US pope, becomes Leo XIV
speed read Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is a Chicago native who spent decades living in Peru
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment