Iowa’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Is Set to Take Effect on Monday

Iowa’s six-week abortion ban is set to take effect on Monday morning, changing the map of abortion access in the Midwest and giving Republicans in the state a long-sought policy victory.

Since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-to-3 last month that the ban could be enforced, it had mostly been a matter of when, not if, the law would take effect. Last week, a state district judge said an injunction blocking enforcement of the ban would be dissolved at 8 a.m. local time on Monday. Until then, abortion had been legal in Iowa up until about 22 weeks of pregnancy.

The new Iowa law highlighted the divergence of state-level policies since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the national right to abortion in 2022. While some Midwestern states, including Illinois and Minnesota, which are governed by Democrats, have moved to maintain or expand abortion rights, sweeping bans have taken effect in others, including Missouri and South Dakota, which are led by Republicans.