The US state of Iowa’s strict abortion law went into effect on Monday, immediately prohibiting most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy – before many women know they are pregnant.
Iowa’s Republican leaders have been seeking the law for years and gained momentum after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.
The Iowa Supreme Court also issued a ruling that year saying there was no constitutional right to abortion in the state.
“There is no right more sacred than life,” Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said in June.
“I’m glad that the Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the will of the people of Iowa.
Across the US, four states now ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and 14 states have near-total bans at all stages of pregnancy.
The law in Iowa and other restrictions across the country will be a focus of the 2024 election, with Republicans celebrating their successes and Democrats criticising them as an attack on women’s rights.
Vice president Kamala Harris, who stands to become the Democratic presidential nominee, has said reproductive rights are at stake this November.
The Harris campaign released a video on Monday to draw attention to the issue as Iowa’s law becomes enforceable.
“What we need to do is vote,” she said. “When I am president of the United States, I will sign into law the protections for reproductive freedom.”
Iowa’s abortion providers have been fighting the new law but still preparing for it, shoring up abortion access in neighbouring states and drawing on the lessons learned where bans went into effect more swiftly.
They have said they will continue to operate in Iowa in compliance with the new law, but Dr Sarah Traxler, Planned Parenthood North Central States’ chief medical officer, called it a “devastating and dark” moment in state history.
The law prohibits abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is roughly at six weeks.
There are limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or when the life of the mother is in danger.
Previously, abortion in Iowa was legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In states with restrictions, the main abortion options are getting pills via telehealth or underground networks and travelling, vastly driving up demand in states with more access.
