Iowa ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban Heads to Trial Court Showdown

Iowa’s GOP governor will press a trial court on Friday to lift a 2019 order that blocked the state from enforcing its ban on abortions after about the sixth week of pregnancy.

Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy, with an exception after that point when the procedure is needed to save the mother’s life. But that will change if the trial court dissolves the injunction against the so-called “heartbeart” law, in which event most abortions will be prohibited in the state.

The Polk County District Court’s prior ruling must be vacated because it ...