Voted last week by the Iowa Parliament [1], the law has just been passed by the Republican governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds. This law prohibits any abortion as soon as a foetal heartbeat is detected, i.e. approximately from the sixth week of pregnancy. The only exceptions concern cases of rape and incest.
Supporters of this law hope that in the event of recourse to the courts the Supreme Court will be conservative enough to uphold this law, or even to modify the 1973 judgment [2]. “I understand and expect that this is likely to be challenged in court. (…) However, this is more important than a simple law. It’s about life. I will not give in on who I am or what I believe,” explained Kim Reynolds.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) intends to take action “to block this clearly unconstitutional law”.
[1] Iowa : pas d’avortement si le cœur bat
[2] Roe v. Wade ruling of the Supreme Court: allows abortions in all states in the US.
AFP (05/05/2018)