>> Lawmakers in Iowa passed a
bill late last night that would
ban most abortions in the state
after six weeks.
Iowa is the latest in a series
of republican-led states to pass
abortion restrictions since the
U.S. Supreme court overturned
roe last year.
Iowa governor Kim Reynolds is
expected to sign the bill into
law on Friday.
Joining us now to discuss the
nation's patchwork of abortion
laws is Erin Murphy, Des Moines
bureau chief for the gazette and
Sarah Varney, senior
correspondent for kff health
news.
As we mentioned Iowa Republicans
, passed this late last night.
Here is a portion of the hours
of debate.
>> This bill ensures the right
to life is protected.
The most fundamental human
right that is enshrined in our
state and federal constitutions.
Neither the U.S. Constitution
nor the Iowa state constitution
provides any right to
reproductive freedom.
When we weighed past the pretty
words surrounding reproductive
freedom and women's right to
choose, what we find is the
truth.
Those are nothing more than
terms used in advocating for the
willingness to kill a baby
through all nine months of
pregnancy.
>> Abortions have always happen
Ed and will happen.
The question is, will they be
safe and legal?
If they are not, women will be
harmed.
Some may die.
I guarantee you would not what
me flying your airplane.
I am not a licensed pilot.
Or drilling on your teeth
because I never went to dental
school.
We citizen politicians should
know our place and it is not in
the exam room.
>> So abortion in Iowa had been
legal for up to 20 weeks of
pregnancy.
How did lawmakers arrive at this
legislation?
>> So this is actually Iowa
Republicans second attempt to
pass what they call the fetal
heart bill as you noted what a
lot of people believe can be
detected at six weeks of
pregnancy so very early.
Often before the woman is aware
she is pregnant.
They passed a very similar bill
in 2018 and been a Reynolds
signed it into law Diane
governor Reynolds signed it into
law then it was immediately
blocked by the courts. And
stayed that way until after the
Iowa and U.S. Supreme courts in
2022 delivered rulings that sort
of reset the legal landscape of
abortion obviously the us
supreme court being the repeal
of roe versus wade there was
very similar ruling at the
almost the exact same time by
the Iowa supreme court.
Once that kind of reset the
legal landscape here the
governor apps in state courts to
reinstate that 2018 law. Just
this past month, the Iowa
supreme court declined to do
that in a split decision.
And so Republican legislators
went back to work called the
, special session to once again
pass this law with the
expectation that it will get
back to the Iowa supreme court
again and under new kind of
legal, you know, arena will be
approved this time.
Will be considered
constitutional by the state
supreme court. That's the goal
of state house Republicans.
>> How have advocates on both
sides of this issue reacted to
the Iowa state legislature now
passing this six-week abortion
ban?
>> Well, what I can tell you is
just yesterday during the
special session, a lot of the
-- a lot of people came to the
Iowa capital.
It was a pretty remarkable
scene.
I have been covering the capitol
for 10 years.
And I can only think of one
other instance that even comes
close to what I saw yesterday.
Just thousands of people at the
capitol, the vast vast majority
of which were abortions right
advocates.
There were the so-called
pro-life antiabortion crowd as
well.
They were there DEMs ridding as
well but far far outnumbered by
the abortion rights people
.
They demonstrated long and loud
.
They were there for six or seven
hours of the day.
It was pretty remarkable and and
we've seen public polling in
Iowa that shows a majority of
iowans support abortion being
legal in some or most cases.
So it will be interesting to see
as this law presumably plays out
in the courts.
We have already just recently
heard there are legal challenges
already to this new law before
it is even signed.
So this will go through the
courts and he can then it will
be interesting to see how the
public reacts this time around
and whether it affects the
elections in 2024.
>> Sarah abortion is banned in
, almost all cases in most of
the states bordering Iowa but
abortion is protected legally in
Illinois and Minnesota, two
states that are led by
Democrats.
How might those states become
destinations for Iowa women
seeking abortions, and how are
those states preparing?
>> Well, we actually have a lot
of examples of what happens when
a state essentially passes a ban
like this.
This happened in Georgia
recently.
We have a map actually we can
put up by my colleagues and the
women's health team and you can
really see this sort of sea of
red. And you can see what
you happens with Iowa.
As you mentioned, we imagined
that women will go to Minnesota
and Ellen Neu.
-- In Illinois.
One of the things that we've
seen really is a lot of
confusion about what's legal so
women even showing up at clinics
in Minnesota or Illinois saying
to ob/gyn's I need an abortion.
I know it's illegal and the
staff of the clinics having to
tell these women that no
actually here you know you're
safe.
It is legal.
The other thing we're really
seeing now is a delay in the
procedures. So women who may
have been able to get an
abortion that you know, seven or
eight weeks now it's a 10 or 12
or 13 weeks and at higher risk
in their pregnancy.
The other thing we're really
seeing too and this will affect
these women in Iowa is
miscarriage is incredibly common
and nonviable pregnancies.
When this goes into effect in
Iowa it will not just impact
women who want to end early
unintended pregnancies but women
with intended pregnancies that
are not progressing.
We have seen this in many cases.
Women in Wisconsin having to go
to Illinois when their fetus is
not developing a skull for
instance or has no kidneys.
It is quite true medic for these
patients having to travel.
The other thing we are already
starting to see is far more
actually giving birth to
children that they did not
intend to have.
There is statistical modeling
out of Texas recently that found
after sb eight went into effect
which was the six-week ban in
Texas that there is about 10,000
additional forced births that
were estimated.
One thing to note for women in
Iowa and elsewhere is medication
abortion remains legal.
Depends on how and where you get
it.
There are groups like eight
access that are continuing to
mail medication abortion into
states even where it is
technically legal.
>> We have seen how the
antiabortion movement has
shifted to the state level after
the supreme court overturned
roe.
What can you tell us about the
legal challenges to some of the
state bans to include Iowa?
>> We have seen quite a number
of successes from the
antiabortion groups recently.
One thing I will mention though,
is just yesterday, a group of
advocates in Idaho filed a
lawsuit against Idaho's teen
abortion travel ban.
So this is a travel ban that
went into effect on may 5, we
did a news hour segment about it
if anyone wants to go back and
watch it.
But these groups who largely
work with women who are victims
of domestic violence and sexual
violence.
There is also an abortion fund
involved.
They filed in federal court
yesterday a lawsuit saying this
infringes on the interstate
right -- right to interstate
travel and infringes on the
first amendment right to free
speech saying this law chills
speech around abortion.
The supreme court has held money
given to support speech also
should be protected by free
speech or by the first amendment
rather.
So this is a new challenge
against this team travel ban.
There are many state
legislators, Republican state
legislatures looking at doing
this type of travel ban because
we have seen model legislation
come from the right to life
committee which is one of the
largest antiabortion groups in
the country that is looking at
how can they limit travel
outside of the states for women
under 18 and for adults as well.
>> Senior correspondent for K
ff health news and every Murphy
is chief of the kids that.
Thanks to you both.
♪♪