DES MOINES — A state court judge said Friday that he will take up to 60 days to consider arguments in a legal challenge to Iowa’s fetal heartbeat law, an abortion bill considered one of the strictest in the country.
The law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May would prohibit most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy.
The law was to take effect in July 1, but a legal challenge by abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic, halted its implementation.
The abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa argued Friday to Judge Michael Huppert that the primary issues in the case have been decided by the Iowa Supreme Court and they asked the judge to declare the law unconstitutional and end the case without a trial in what is called a summary judgment.
The attorney for Reynolds and the state says there are many disputed issues in the law that must be heard at trial.
