In response to Iowa’s extreme abortion ban going into effect, DNC spokesperson Stephanie Justice released the following statement:

“Today is the first day that women in Iowa will have their lives thrown into chaos due to an extreme and cruel abortion ban that outlaws abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant – all thanks to Donald Trump. Iowa women now join millions of women across the Midwest who have been subject to MAGA Republicans’ radical, anti-choice agendas because of Trump’s role in the fall of   Roe v. Wade, which he still brags about to this day. Alongside JD Vance, who wants abortion to be ‘illegal nationally,’ Trump will stop at nothing to take away the fundamental freedoms women have had for generations. The consequences of this ban will further devastate health care systems of the states across the Midwest, which are already under strain because women are forced to to travel hundreds of miles just to receive basic care. 

“Today is a dark day for Iowa, the Midwest, and the country, and if Trump wins election again, this will be a harbinger of what’s to come for the entire nation. Trump’s Project 2025 will ban abortion nationwide and punish women who seek reproductive care. However, this does not have to be our future. Women in Iowa and across the nation are fed up and will rise up and vote against Donald Trump and JD Vance’s plan to rip away our reproductive rights.” 

Today – one year after Iowa MAGA Republicans passed one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, banning abortion before most women know they’re pregnant – the ban goes into effect. All because Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade.

Des Moines Register: “Starting July 29, you can’t get an abortion in Iowa if you’re more than 6 weeks pregnant”

AP: “Iowa law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect Monday”

Axios: “Iowa’s abortion ban, one of the nation’s strictest, to take effect Monday”

Iowa Capital Dispatch: “Iowa six-week abortion ban to take effect Monday, judge orders”

Iowa becomes the 22nd state with an abortion ban in effect, ripping away freedoms from even more women. Trump has called these bans “beautiful” while women and their families suffer.

AL: “Alabama Senate passes near-total ban on abortion”

AK: “Arkansas governor signs near-total abortion ban into law” 

AZ: “Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signs 15-week abortion ban into law”

FL: “Florida’s 6-week abortion ban is now in effect, curbing access across the South”

GA: “State Supreme Court upholds Georgia’s six-week abortion ban”

ID: “Idaho governor signs abortion ban modeled on Texas law”

IN: “Indiana’s near-total abortion ban set to take effect as state Supreme Court denies rehearing”

KY: “Kentucky… Abortion is banned in almost all circumstances.”

LA: “Louisiana governor signs 6-week abortion ban into law”

MO: “Abortion banned in Missouri as trigger law takes effect, following Supreme Court ruling”

MS: “Mississippi’s new ‘heartbeat’ law bans most abortions at 6 weeks”

NE: “Nebraska governor signs 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors”

NC: “North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban becomes law despite governor’s veto”

ND: “North Dakota governor signs law banning nearly all abortions”

OK: “Oklahoma governor signs the nation’s strictest abortion ban” 

TN: “Court lets Tennessee 6-week abortion ban take effect”

TX: “Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of nation’s strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy”

SC: “Judge says South Carolina can enforce 6-week abortion ban amid dispute over when a heartbeat begins”

SD: “What counts as an exception to South Dakota’s abortion ban? A video may soon explain”

UT: “Utah governor signs bill banning abortion clinics across the state”

WV: “West Virginia enacts near-total abortion ban”

The effects of Trump and MAGA Republicans’ extreme and cruel ban will be felt across the Midwest, straining health care systems. Trump and MAGA Republicans have manufactured a dire situation where women have to flee their home states in order to obtain healthcare. 

Iowa Public Radio: “The law is set to go into effect July 29. Planned Parenthood estimates it will block nearly all abortions in the state.

“When it does, it will likely affect abortion access not only in Iowa, but in the entire Midwest region.”

Washington Post: “Reproductive care groups in neighboring states where the procedure remains legal are already seeing an influx of patients from Iowa. The Chicago Abortion Fund received more than 60 support requests from Iowa residents during the first three weeks of July, a 165 percent increase over previous months.

“It’s staggering even to me,” executive director Megan Jeyifo said Wednesday.

Fox Illinois: “The reversal of Roe v. Wade caused a surge in the number of out-of-state patients traveling to Illinois for abortions.

“Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri expects there will be an additional 14,000 out-of-state patients in southern Illinois alone, over a year-long period. Right now, there are only two clinics in that region, so people have to wait longer for an appointment.”

Iowa’s ban will only exacerbate the pressure on health care systems since Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade. 

CBS News: “The number of people crossing state lines to Minnesota to get an abortion spiked after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, new data show.

“The number of out-of-state patients jumped from 9% in 2020 to 30% in 2023 over the same time period, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Nationwide, one in five patients are traveling out of state for an abortion.”

The Detroit News: “‘One month later, I would say that our biggest surprise was really around how quickly our capacity dwindled,’ said Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, spokeswoman for the Planned Parenthood affiliate. ‘Our best guess, before Roe was overturned, was that this would happen over time. Especially because we knew that abortion wasn’t going to be banned in all the states all at once. It depends on if you have trigger laws, pre-Roe bans and some states have litigated their trigger bans. So we knew there was going to be a patchwork and access would fall. But we thought it would fall a little slower than what’s happened.’”

MLive: “‘The number of out-of-state patients that we’re seeing has tripled,’ said Dr. Sarah Wallett, chief medical operating officer with Planned Parenthood of Michigan. ‘Where it used to be fairly uncommon for us to see someone who lived out of state, now, it’s really routine.’

“‘Every day that I am in clinic, I am seeing someone who has traveled from out-of-state.’”

Doctors and providers are no longer practicing in states with extreme abortion bans and are speaking out against the dangers of these cruel laws. 

KCRG: “Iowa OB/GYN concerned about abortion law exceptions”

Kaiser Health News: “Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions”

Des Moines Register: “Iowa has a shortage of OB-GYN doctors. The new abortion ban could make that worse.”

The Gazette: “Doctors say the new law could force them to consider legal and professional ramifications while making potential life-or-death medical decisions involving pregnant women.

“‘The law is still going to have a chilling effect,’  said Dr. Francesca Turner, an obstetrics and gynecology physician in Des Moines and co-founder of the advocacy group Iowans for Health Liberty.

“We spent decades training, and nobody wants to lose their license over saving someone’s life,’’ Turner said. ‘‘I also don’t think in the moment that someone’s life was in jeopardy that I should be stopped and waste precious seconds worrying about whether I’m going to break the law or lose my license.’”

Iowa’s abortion ban goes squarely against the beliefs of Iowans, with an overwhelming majority of Iowans supporting a women’s right to abortion. Now voters in Iowa and across the Midwest are fighting back and rejecting Donald Trump’s anti-freedom extremism.

Des Moines Register: “A majority of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. 

“Sixty-one percent of Iowa adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 35% say the procedure should be illegal in most or all cases. 

“More than two-thirds of Iowa women, 70%, say abortion should be legal in most or all cases.” 

NPR: “Voters in Kansas decide to keep abortion legal in the state, rejecting an amendment” 

Washington Post: “Kansans resoundingly reject amendment aimed at restricting abortion rights”

The Guardian: “Kansas abortion referendum drives record number of voters to polls”

NPR: “Ohio votes in favor of amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights”

AP: “Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest statewide win for reproductive rights”

The 19th: “Ohio votes to guarantee abortion rights in its state Constitution”

Missouri Independent: “A campaign to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution said Friday that it collected more than 380,000 signatures in just three months, more than twice the likely total needed to qualify for this year’s statewide ballot.” 

New York Times: “Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion Rights Backers”

Michigan Health Watch: “Michigan’s Proposal 3 ballot measure prevailed by a wide margin this week, marking a historic victory for abortion rights advocates. 

““The constitutional amendment will enshrine rights to reproductive services into the state constitution and effectively invalidate a now-blocked 1931 abortion ban, which would have criminalized most abortions in the state.”

AP: “Early, often and unequivocally: How Whitmer’s fight for abortion rights helped turn Michigan blue”

NBC News: “Democrats regain control of Michigan state House after winning two special elections”