The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state's six-week abortion ban could be enforced, a decision that sharply limits access to the procedure and fulfills a longstanding goal of the state's Republican leaders.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the national right to abortion in 2022, state legislatures and courts have become central battlegrounds on the issue.
A state district court had blocked enforcement while the new law was being challenged, allowing women in Iowa to seek abortions up until about 22 weeks of pregnancy.
The 2023 Iowa law focused on abortions until a 'detectable fetal heartbeat,' which some medical groups dispute as occurring around six weeks, a point often before women are aware of pregnancy.
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