IOWA SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST ABORTION PROTECTIONS

The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday that abortion is not protected in the state constitution, overturning a ruling from four years ago as federal abortion rights appear highly endangered.

 

The ruling reverses a lower court move that blocked a law establishing a 24-hour waiting period before a person can get an abortion.

 

Pivotal timing ahead of Roe ruling: The decision comes as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn its ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established the right to an abortion on a national level, after a leaked draft opinion showed a majority of the justices favored reversing the landmark decision.

 

Iowa had previously been one of several states whose highest courts had ruled their state constitutions protected abortion rights. State supreme courts have issued such rulings in Kansas in 2019, Montana in 1999, Alaska in 1997 and Florida in 1989.

 

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, 26 states are likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group.