The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday issued a split decision on a proposed six-week abortion ban in the state, allowing the procedures to remain legal until about the 20th week of pregnancy.
The six justices on the state’s high court issued a 3-3 decision, failing to reach a majority regarding whether to overturn a lower court decision that had temporarily blocked GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds' effort to reinstate a six-week abortion ban that had been passed in 2018.
The split decision leaves that lower court’s decision in place.
Reproductive rights advocates have said a six-week ban essentially amounts to a total abortion ban, because at the sixth week of pregnancy, most women don't even know they are pregnant.
