DES MOINES (LifeSiteNews) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that there is no “right” to abortion in the state constitution, paving the way for new pro-life laws if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
On June 17, with the U.S. Supreme Court considering whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Iowa Supreme Court declared that there is no “right to an abortion” in the Iowa Constitution.
“The Iowa Constitution is not the source of a fundamental right to an abortion necessitating a strict scrutiny standard of review for regulations affecting that right,” Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in the 182-page opinion.
The Iowa Supreme Court opinion states that a Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade “could decide whether the undue burden test continues to govern federal constitutional analysis of abortion rights.”
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“We expect the opinions in that case will impart a great deal of wisdom we do not have today,” it continued. “Although we take pride in our independent interpretation of the Iowa Constitution, often our independent interpretations draw on and contain exhaustive discussions of both majority and dissenting opinions of the United States Supreme Court.”
The ruling reverses a previous decision by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2018 holding that, “Implicit in the concept of ordered liberty,” under the state’s Constitution, “is the ability to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy,” according to the Ames Tribune.
Lawmakers have also advanced a constitutional amendment in response to the 2018 decision, with Republican state Sen. Jake Chapman calling the decision an “egregious usurpation of power.” “Regrettably, five unelected judges with the stroke of a pen fabricated, fabricated a constitutional right to an abortion under Iowa’s constitution,” he said.
The new ruling will allow more pro-life laws to be passed throughout the state if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Following the Supreme Court leak, new pro-life bills across America have emerged as legislators prepare for the potential overturning of the nearly 50-year-old abortion ruling.
Last month, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a new heartbeat law banning all abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy and another bill banning nearly all abortions from conception in anticipation of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Similarly, Many Republican-led states, including Idaho and Florida, have enacted pro-life legislation in anticipation of the Court’s ruling.
Willey, a small town in Iowa, passed legislation banning all abortions and thereby making their city America’s 49th sanctuary city for the unborn.