DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds will convene the Iowa Legislature for a special session next week in an effort to "address the issue of abortion," she announced Wednesday.
The special session will take place on Tuesday, July 11 at 8:30 a.m. Any new legislation is expected to easily pass through the Iowa Republican supermajority.
"That means that outside of the regular session that the legislators need to come back to Des Moines, and deal with whatever issues the governor sees, sees as pressing and worthy of a special session," said Karen Kedrowski, a political science professor at Iowa State University. "Special sessions are not very common, they're expensive, right? You have to bring in the staff, you have to pay the legislators."
Drake University law professor Sally Frank agreed.
"Legislators have other jobs they need to go back to and other work. And they're paid for everyday in session. So it costs the taxpayer a lot of money for them to come back into session," Frank said.
The news comes just weeks after the Iowa Supreme Court split 3-3 on Gov. Kim Reynolds' six-week abortion bill, maintaining access to abortions up until the 20-week mark in pregnancy.
“In 2018, I proposed, the legislature passed, and I proudly signed into law legislation that protected unborn babies from abortion once a heartbeat was detectable," Reynolds said in a statement. "After years of litigation, the Iowa Supreme Court was split 3-3 last month in its opinion regarding whether a lower court’s injunction of the Fetal Heartbeat Law should be dissolved. This lack of action disregards the will of Iowa voters and lawmakers who will not rest until the unborn are protected by law."
Iowa lawmakers have been out of session since early May, and weren't expected to reconvene until next year.
And when Local 5 spoke to legislators on Wednesday, they said they beleived the session could take as little as one day to complete.
"There will be a short amount of debate, which again can be limited by the Republican majority, and then we have to vote," said Democrat Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, of Dallas County. "It can be signed into law immediately after that."
And it is a move anti-abortion advocates are grateful for.
"We have been waiting for this law to be enforced since 2018, when it was signed into law by Gov. Reynolds," said Maggie DeWitte, the executive director of Pulse Life Advocates. "There is really no time to waste. And this is a life or death situation that we are in."
Bob Vander Plaats, The FAMiLY Leader's president, sent Local 5 News the following statement:
"The pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time," The FAMiLY Leader, therefore, supports the Governor and Legislature's every effort to save innocent human lives, because that little child in her mother's womb - she's a baby, and she deserves to be protected."
Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst denounced Reynolds' decision to call a special session in a press release, stating in part:
“Governor Reynolds’ call for a special session today is all politics, when our work should be about people. She caved to the special interests and is now demanding lawmakers send her a bill to ban abortion in just six days. It’s clear the Governor and GOP leaders aren’t listening to Iowans because a strong majority supports reproductive freedom."
Most Republican-led states have significantly curbed abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Separately, the Iowa Supreme Court in 2022 reversed an opinion that said the state constitution affirms a fundamental right to abortion.
After those rulings, Reynolds declined to call a special session last year to enact new restrictions, instead choosing to work through the state courts to try to get the 2018 ban into effect. The law had been blocked by a 2019 district court ruling.
The law banned abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. It included exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, incest and fetal abnormality.
Any new ban is likely to be challenged in state court.
Reynolds has ordered a special session just one other year, in 2021, when lawmakers came together in two separate special sessions to approve the drawing of congressional and legislative districts.