Iowa Supreme Court denies Kim Reynolds' request to revisit 24-hour abortion waiting period

The Iowa Supreme Court has denied Gov. Kim Reynolds' request to revisit its decision in an abortion case involving a 24-hour waiting period.

The court's denial, issued Tuesday, means the waiting period will likely take effect in the coming days as the case returns to Johnson County district court for further proceedings. It is the latest development in a shifting legal landscape for abortion laws, as state and federal courts have struck down constitutional protections for abortion.

The Iowa Supreme Court decided the case last month, ruling June 17 that the Iowa Constitution provides no fundamental right to an abortion and overturning a 2018 decision that found the Constitution did protect abortion rights. The court's latest decision came in a challenge to a 2020 law that requires a 24-hour waiting period to receive an abortion.

More: Kim Reynolds seeks to revive Iowa's 6-week 'heartbeat' abortion ban after Roe v. Wade overturn

Reynolds, a Republican, asked the court to rehear the case after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a separate case, overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey — two of its own prior decisions that legalized abortion nationwide and provided a framework for regulating it.

The Iowa Supreme Court's June ruling had noted that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision might "provide insights that we are currently lacking."

That was the basis for Reynolds' request to rehear the case. She argued that abortion restrictions in Iowa should be reviewed by courts under a more permissive legal standard, called the "rational basis" test. Currently, abortion restrictions in Iowa must survive the "undue burden" standard, meaning abortion restrictions that place a substantial burden on patients must be struck down.

It is rare for a court to grant a rehearing of a case it has just decided. The Iowa Supreme Court gave no explanation for its rejection in Tuesday's one-sentence denial signed by Chief Justice Susan Christensen.

Planned Parenthood North Central States and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa applauded the decision.

"We are pleased that the Court has declined the Governor's radical proposal to immediately revisit its 24-hour decision and eliminate the right to safe and legal abortion in Iowa," the groups said in a joint statement. "Nearly one in four American women have an abortion at some point in their lives, for a variety of deeply personal reasons. The majority of Iowans support their right to do so, and we will continue to fight to preserve it going forward."

Reynolds signed the waiting period into law in 2020, but it was challenged in court and has never taken effect. Still, Planned Parenthood, Iowa's largest abortion provider, is requiring patients seeking abortions to observe a 24-hour waiting period in light of the Iowa Supreme Court's June decision.

More: Iowa law does not yet mandate a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, attorney general says

Reynolds' request for the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear the waiting period case is one of two legal avenues she is pursuing to further restrict abortion in Iowa. She will also ask a Polk County district court to lift an injunction blocking the state's so-called fetal heartbeat law, which is intended to ban abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected. Opponents have said that can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, and before many women know they are pregnant.

The state has not yet formally filed a motion asking the district court to lift the injunction.

Iowa law currently bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions only to save the life of the mother.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court won't rehear 24-hour abortion waiting period case