And Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa have sued to block Iowa from implementing the harshest anti-abortion law in the nation. The law outlaws abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens just six weeks into a pregnancy, and before many women even realize they’re pregnant. The law is slated to take effect July 1. This is former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, speaking on Democracy Now!
Cecile Richards: “Well, Iowa, of course, as you just reported, I mean, this is one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country. It’s clearly unconstitutional. … I think the important thing, too, to put it in context, Amy, is that not only are they trying to now ban all abortions, they actually are trying to end sex education for young people in Iowa. They’ve shut down Planned Parenthood health centers, that served about 12,000 women in the state of Iowa. So this isn’t only an attack on abortion rights. It’s an attack on affordable reproductive healthcare for people everywhere.”