Iowa

As of June of 2024, a heartbeat law is being enforced, theoretically restricting access to abortion up to roughly six weeks, or at the sign of a detectable heartbeat. There is a hard ban at 20 weeks, for providers, but not procurers, specifically mothers.

State Representative Zach Dieken introduced HF2256 to abolish abortion in Iowa. It was co-authored by Representatives Ken Carlson, Luana Stoltenberg, Mark Cisneros, Steven Bradley, and Brad Sherman.

This bill was assigned to the Judiciary committee, who was chaired by Pro-Life Rep. Steven Holt, who declined to give the bill even a subcommittee hearing, effectively killing this bill. In place of the bill that would have abolished abortion in Iowa, the Pro-Lifers offered another heartbeat bill, which theoretically bars access to abortion up to six weeks. Unfortunately, this law merely tells Iowan mothers that if they want to abort their child, they must do so at a clinic before a detectable heartbeat, or they should self-manage their abortions through the dozens of means they can utilize to do so. Self-managed abortion is entirely legal up to birth in Iowa, because the current law being enforced explicitly gives the mother immunity in abortion. In other words, abortion is legal in all stages of pregnancy in Iowa, as long as the mother is managing it herself.

Nevertheless, the abolition movement is growing rapidly in Iowa, and God is doing great things. Zach Dieken will continue to offer his abolition bill, and legislators in Iowa can be contacted, and urged to do anything in their power to bring his current bill out of committee.

Note: This summary was written on 8/8/2024