Iowa lawmakers pass restrictive fetal heartbeat abortion ban

Pro- and anti-choice protesters.
(Image credit: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)

In Iowa, the state legislature has passed a bill that would make abortion illegal as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has not said if she will sign the law, which was passed by the state House late Tuesday and state Senate early Wednesday. Iowa now allows most abortions up to 20 weeks, but if this new measure is signed into law, the state will have one of the most restrictive bans in the country. Many women do not realize they are pregnant before six weeks, and Iowa Public Radio says the legislation would make some exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, and if the mother's life is in danger.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

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.