WASHINGTON – Today, District Judge Joseph Seidlin issued a temporary injunction of Iowa’s 2023 Heartbeat Law.

The bill was signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Friday while the judge heard arguments in the courtroom. The temporary injunction prevents the law from going into effect while the law is challenged in the courts.

“We are deeply saddened that Iowa’s Heartbeat Law cannot immediately save lives,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The judge’s decision ignores the will of the people of Iowa who want to see unborn children protected in state law.”

Tobias continued, “We praise Governor Kim Reynolds and pro-life legislators for their dedication and commitment to the protection of the most vulnerable members of the human family. We also thank the hard work of our Iowa affiliate, Iowa Right to Life, and the pro-life coalition that diligently persevered in seeing this law pass.”

Governor Kim Reynold’s said the following in a statement issued following the injunction:

The abortion industry’s attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today, but I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.

The Iowa General Assembly passed the bill in a special legislative session with a vote of 56 to 34 in the Iowa House and 32 to 17 in the Iowa Senate. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed for an injunction before the governor signed the bill into law.

On July 5, pro-life Governor Kim Reynolds called for a special legislative session in response to the June 16 Iowa Supreme Court’s 3-3 decision regarding a lower court injunction against Iowa’s 2018 Fetal Heartbeat Law. The 2018 law was designed to protect unborn babies from abortion after the heartbeat has been detected. The split decision by the Iowa Supreme Court allows a lower court injunction against the 2018 law to stand.

Passage of Iowa’s 2023 Heartbeat Law places it under the guidelines rendered in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.