Iowa’s Republican-controlled legislature has passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the United States, outlawing the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected, often at six weeks and before a woman realizes she is pregnant. Abortion opponents aim to land abortion questions back in front of the nation’s top court, where they believe the 5-4 conservative majority could sharply curtail abortion access or ban it outright. Spokeswoman Becca Lee of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which supports access to abortion, called it an “intentionally unconstitutional ban on 99% of safe, legal abortion, designed to challenge Roe v Wade”. A similar court challenge is under way in Kentucky, which in April enacted a ban on a common abortion procedure from the 11th week of pregnancy. The bill would ban most abortions in the state and was passed in the final days of the Iowa legislative session.

Source: The Guardian May 02, 2018 17:48 UTC