Iowa Supreme Court: Decision expected Friday on abortion access law

A major shift to Iowa’s abortion landscape could happen Friday.

The Iowa Supreme Court is set to release its decision on the state’s blocked law that would ban abortion after six weeks.

That law, signed in 2018 by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, prohibited abortions once cardiac activity can be detected — the “fetal heartbeat” concept — which usually happens around six weeks of pregnancy and is often before many women know they’re pregnant.

Current state law bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Reynolds asked the courts to reverse a state judge’s 2019 decision that blocked the six-week ban.