On Thursday, August 11, Governor Kim Reynolds, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom and Iowa attorney Alan Ostergren, filed a motion requesting the district court lift the injunction of Iowa’s fetal heartbeat bill.

[Tama-Grundy Publishing note: Iowa’s ‘fetal heartbeat bill was signed into law by Gov. Reynolds in 2018 but struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court in early 2019 for violating the Iowa Consitution. The law would have made most abortions illegal once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. A fetal heartbeat can often be detected beginning around week six of pregnancy, a time when many women do not know they are pregnant. Currently in Iowa, most abortions up to 20 weeks remain legal.]

“The historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe has given us a new hope and pathway forward to challenge the Iowa court’s previous decision,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Life and death are determined by a person’s heartbeat, and I believe that includes our unborn children. As long as I’m Governor, I will stand up for the sanctity of life and fight to protect the precious and innocent unborn lives.

In 2018, the legislature passed, and Gov. Reynolds signed a law outlawing abortion at six weeks when the baby’s heartbeat can first be detected. A Polk County district court judge enjoined that law, prohibiting Iowa officials from enforcing it, based upon the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in PPH II, where the Court erroneously created a fundamental right to abortion. Because the Iowa Supreme Court has now overruled that 2018 ruling and rejected the “strict scrutiny” standard it adopted, Gov. Reynolds has asked the district court to lift the injunction of the heartbeat law.