Iowa abortions plummet by a third

Laws matter. Iowa’s abortion rate dropped by 32% in 2023 according to data released by Iowa Health and Human Services. Their new report, 2023 Vital Statistics of Iowa, January, 2025 reported that abortions dropped by 1297 abortions from 2022. And this drop occurred before the Heartbeat Bill even went into effect.

Q & A about Iowa’s abortion landscape

What does the Heartbeat Law really do? It bans abortion at the point when a heartbeat is detectable, which is around six to ten weeks of fertilization. The laws passed in 2018, was struck down by the courts only to later have those decisions corrected by the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa legislature re-passed the law in 2023, and it didn’t actually go into effect until July 29th, 2024.

The ACLU-IA characterized the Heartbeat Bill as a “near-total abortion ban.” Is this accurate? Sadly, no. Their overheated rhetoric fails to acknowledge that 40% of abortions take place within the first six weeks of gestation. Another 39% occurs between seven and nine weeks, a point at which the heartbeat may or may not be detectable. 

In other words, the vast majority of abortions are NOT affected by the Heartbeat Bill. In addition, the law allows exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute 90% of Iowa abortions occur in the first trimester.

How big of a factor is the abortion pill when it comes to Iowa abortions? Big. Seventy percent of Iowa abortions were drug-induced. But abortions via the abortion pill dropped 35% from the previous year.

Do many Iowa women go to other states to procure abortions? According to the Iowa Abortion Access Fund and the Chicago Abortion Fund, 194 Iowa women sought abortions in other states in 2023. The number tripled in 2024 to 625 Iowans who went out-of-state for abortions.

Do you have any 2024 data showing how the July 29th implementation of the Heartbeat Bill affected abortion rates in Iowa? Yes. The Guttmacher Institute’s  “Monthly Abortion Provision Study” said Iowa’s monthly abortion average dropped from 400 a month to 250 a month after the law went into effect. 

Laws matter. Although the Iowa abortion landscape is encouraging in light of significant declines in 2023, we still have a long ways to go. Iowa needs a total ban on abortion.