Governor of Iowa Signs Abortion Ban, but Court Immediately Blocks

On Friday, Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa signed a 20 week abortion ban into law.

The legislation was a huge step for a state which has long leaned to the Left on the abortion issue. The measure also included a waiting period for those seeking abortions, as Live Action News reports.

Senate File 471, which passed the Iowa House and Senate last month, bans abortions at 20 weeks and implements a three-day waiting period before women can undergo abortions. It does not allow exceptions for rape and incest; however, it does permit abortions in cases when a mother’s life or health is at risk.

“After a years-long battle to gain a pro-life Senate, Iowa finally succeeded in passing life-saving legislation that bans painful late-term abortions,” said Jenifer Bowen, president of Life Right Action, in a statement.

However, the victory was short-lived as lawyers from Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, and the ACLU filed to stop the new measure from going into effect. Planned Parenthood operates 12 location in Iowa, and lawyers demanded a halt to the law’s implementation because of the many death appointments already on the PP calendars. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports.

“Victory,” Rita Bettis, legal director of the ACLU of Iowa, declared in an email Friday morning…

“This order immediately and temporarily blocks the challenged provisions of the law: the 72-hour minimum waiting period and medically unnecessary additional appointment,” she said. “This means women scheduled to have abortion procedures today (Friday) will be able to receive care as scheduled.”

In his order, Justice David Wiggins denied a request to enjoin the governor from signing the bill, but granted a temporary injunction staying enforcement of the three-day waiting period under the full court could consider the matter.

He gave the state until noon Monday to respond, after which “the court will then consider whether the injunction should remain in force pending this court’s resolution of appellants’ application for interlocutory appeal.”

For such a major medial decision, one would think a three-day waiting period would be welcomed. However, that’s inconvenient for women looking to end the lives of their unborn children.

The other portion of the now-blocked law included a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, restricting abortions past the five month mark. At this point in a pregnancy, the baby is already well developed and kicks furiously. According to the Endowment for Human Development, the unborn child’s
“fetal movement, breathing activity, and heart rate begin to follow daily cycles called circadian rhythms; the same rhythms that characterize various biological activities throughout life.” Individual characteristics and bodily functions are well-established.

For the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, though, the “right” to the homicide of abortion matters more. Hopefully the court will lift the stay on this bold, necessary bill, and unborn lives can be saved.

The fight continues.

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