Iowa justices reconsider state constitution’s abortion right

By DAVID PITT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Supreme Court has heard arguments about abortion restrictions Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in 2020. Many of the conservative justices deciding the case have replaced predecessors who affirmed four years ago that the state constitution guarantees women the right to have abortions. Abortion providers filed a lawsuit challenging the law passed by the Republican Legislature and signed by the GOP governor in June 2020 that required a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. A judge struck down the law in June 2021, citing a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision that declared abortion a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution.