DES MOINES, Iowa — By Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court could decide whether to allow the state's blocked abortion law to go into effect, or send it back to the district court for further proceedings.
The law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, went into effect last July before district court judge soon after put it on pause. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds later appealed the decision with the state Supreme Court’s permission.
"If [the Court] upholds the 6-week ban, that there would be more legislation coming," Drake University law professor Sally Frank explained referencing the future of the law. "That other legislation could impose other restrictions that might be federally appealed."
The high court could decide by Friday to end the temporary pause without ruling on the law's constitutionality or the standard to use in assessing it, instead sending the case back to lower courts for full arguments there.
If the Court rules on the case itself, the decision will include Justice Dana Oxley's opinion this time, after she recused herself from last year's 3-3 split decision on a similar abortion case.
There are other lawsuits currently filed against the state of Iowa.
Most recently, two, Iowa-based beverage manufacturers sued the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services over a law restricting the amount of THC in consumable hemp products.
Manufacturers want an injunction placed on the law, which is set to take effect on Monday, because the plaintiffs state this legislation forces them to destroy about 80 percent of their products. On the other side of the table, the state argues it wants to protect kids and teens from these products.
Also two weeks ago, a federal judge temporarily blocked a state law allowing Iowan law enforcement to file charges against, and deport people with outstanding deportation orders or who previously had been denied entry to the U.S.
Once in custody, migrants could either agree to a judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted, potentially facing time in prison before deportation.
Since then, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed an appeal against the injunction.
And lastly, LGBTQ+ Iowans sued the state in 2023 regarding Iowa's over-arching education law, that in part prohibits teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with younger students. The lawsuit states this law led school districts to remove hundreds of books from its libraries.
Back in December, a district judge partially blocked the law's enforcement, but the state appealed, and argues it wants to affirm parents' rights and protect children.
A federal court heard oral arguments on this case weeks ago in Minnesota, but has not mentioned when a ruling will drop.