July 14 (UPI) — At the conservative Family Leadership Summit on Friday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a 6-week abortion ban, saying, “All life is precious and worthy of the protection of our laws.”
“I have never been prouder to sign a bill into law,” the governor said.
The summit in Des Moines was attended by high-profile conservatives, including former Vice President Mike Pence, media commentator Tucker Carlson, Florida Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
The bill, which effectively criminalizes most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, passed Iowa’s state House 56-34 on Tuesday and passed the state Senate on Wednesday 32-17.
The bill’s consideration attracted large numbers of protesters to the state Capitol, and some Democratic lawmakers shouted “shame” as the bill passed the state Senate.
“The brunt of harm from this law will fall on Black, Latino and Indigenous Iowans — Iowans with lower incomes, and Iowans who live in rural areas,” the ACLU of Iowa said in a tweet on Wednesday.
The White House condemned the bill in a statement Friday.
“While Republican elected officials advance dangerous laws, President Biden and Vice President Harris stand with the majority of Americans who believe personal health care decisions should be between a woman and her doctor, not politicians, and will continue to call on Congress to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
A previous 2018 abortion ban was blocked by the courts prior to Roe v. Wade being overturned. In June, the state supreme court was deadlocked 3-3 on whether or not the law was constitutional.
The current version of the bill is already facing legal challenges.
Pro-choice advocates, including Iowa’s ACLU, and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, filed a request for an injunction against the law in Polk County District Court Wednesday.
“As we gather here at this very moment, the abortion industry is in court trying to prevent this law from taking effect and stop, once again, the will of the people,” Reynolds said.