‘We will fight’: ACLU, Planned Parenthood file lawsuit against abortion law
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Iowa's new abortion law.
Earlier this month, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a fetal heartbeat ban into law.
The law bans most abortions in the state, making it the strictest abortion ban in the country. It goes into effect July 1.
Officials with Planned Parenthood and the ACLU said filing the lawsuit was an easy decision because the new law is unconstitutional.
"This interferes with a woman's right to access an abortion without unnecessary interference by the government,” ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis said.
The Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit.
"We performed approximately 600 procedures (in 2017), and of those last year, we saw 11 that were less than or at or around six weeks,” Emma Goldman Clinic Co-Director Francine Thompson said.
The lawsuit asks for a temporary injunction to put the law on hold while it is fought in court.
Anti-abortion advocates said the lawsuit comes as no surprise.
"This bill was to protect Iowa children, and it's about time that we looked at this life issue and have it reviewed in the court system,” Iowans for Life Executive Director Maggie Dewitte said.
Despite a potentially long legal battle, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland President and CEO Suzanna de Baca said her organization is in it for the long haul.
"We will fight for our patients as long as it takes,” de Baca said. “We will fight for our patients and we will fight for the rights of Iowans."
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced Tuesday that he has disqualified himself from representing the state in the lawsuit.
In a letter to the Executive Council, Miller said he could not zealously assert the state's position because of his core belief that if upheld, the law would undermine rights and protections for women.
Reynolds' office released a statement saying, "We knew there would be a legal fight, but it's a fight worth having to protect innocent life. We will be represented by the Thomas More Society at no cost to taxpayers."
A hearing on the temporary injunction is expected in the coming weeks.
Iowa’s law requiring a three-day waiting period prior to receiving an abortion is pending in the Iowa Supreme Court.