Iowa Supreme Court strikes down 72-hour waiting period

Statement of Melissa Fowler, Senior Director, Communications & Membership at the National Abortion Federation (NAF):

Today, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a 72-hour waiting period for abortion care violates the state’s Constitution. This waiting period would have only added to the many existing barriers that women in Iowa already face when they try to access abortion care. We have spoken with many Iowa women whose access to abortion would have been severely limited if this law went into effect.

Women carefully consider their options before they make an appointment to obtain abortion care. They should not have to delay their care because of a politically motivated, burdensome, and medically-unnecessary state-mandated 72-hour waiting period.

NAF submitted an amicus brief, sharing firsthand accounts of the burdens women in Iowa experience when accessing abortion care and of the additional barriers a 72-hour waiting period and two-visit requirement would impose, in this case.