Next in the series: Winning essays from the Iowa State Bar Foundation Essay Contest

The Iowa State Bar Foundation, in celebration of The Iowa State Bar Association's 150th anniversary, continues to spotlight the voices of Iowa high school students through the Sesquicentennial Celebration Essay Contest. This initiative invites young Iowans to examine the relevance of the law in their communities and encourages thoughtful reflection on the enduring principles that shape our legal system.

Throughout 2025, we are pleased to publish winning essays from across the state in the Iowa Lawyer Weekly e-newsletter. These essays explore foundational concepts such as justice, equality, judicial independence, and the role of the law in a democratic society through the unique lens of the next generation.

This week, we are proud to feature the winning essay from District 4, titled "Iowa on abortion".

Iowa on abortion

By Emily Townsend

Imagine yourself back in high school. You are trying to balance your job, school, and social life. It is overwhelming, draining, and you are exhausted. Then suddenly, you receive some of the worst news of your life. You are pregnant. What do you do? What choices do you have? One choice many people make is to have an abortion. However, in twenty twenty-two, Roe v. Wade was overturned, meaning that abortion was no longer a constitutional right. It allows states to make their own decisions on whether to legalize abortion or not. This raised a question in every state. Should abortion be allowed? This includes the state of Iowa, which had to make its own decision on the pressing matter. No matter your gender, it's worth knowing about your state's abortion laws. Iowans need to know what decision was made and why, what steps they took to implement the law, and what this means for Iowans today.

Most importantly, Iowans need to know what decision the Iowa Supreme Court made on abortion, and why they made this decision. On July twenty-ninth of this year, Iowa passed a law that made getting an abortion illegal after a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus in almost all cases, according to the State Court Report. This means that unless a woman has been raped, the pregnancy was a product of incest, there are fetal abnormalities in the baby that are "incompatible with life", or the mother's life is in danger, she cannot get an abortion after the fetus has a detectable heartbeat, which is around six weeks. However, the law does not state a specific penalty for those who get an abortion. This, of course, raises the question, why? Why did we as a state make these decisions? One of the main reasons some people are against abortion is because they consider this to be "murder". They say that "killing of an innocent fetus is the most heinous sin a woman can partake in." Obviously, murder is generally known to be a horrible crime, so saying that having an abortion is murder means calling abortion wrong. It makes abortion sound unlawful, like a crime. And of course, almost everyone considers crime to be bad. A second reason as to why Iowa created a law against abortion is because of the people living in Iowa, and Iowa's legislature. Iowa's senate has thirty-three Republicans, seventeen more people than the sixteen Democrats in the Iowa senate. Similarly, there are sixty-four Republicans in Iowa's house, but only thirty-six Democrats. Based on recent elections, Iowa as a whole is also Republican-dominated. In the arguments of abortion, it is usually Democrats supporting abortion, and Republicans against it. With Iowa being a state dominated by Republicans, it would make sense that the Republican idea of "pro-life" won in our state. Knowing the what and why of this topic, however, is just the beginning. There are other things to know about the abortion law made in Iowa.

Another piece of information crucial to understanding is how Iowa made the law banning abortion after six weeks. In June of twenty twenty-two, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the law that stated that privacy is a constitutional right, which made abortions legal in every state. Overturning this law made it so every state could decide for itself if it wanted to make abortion legal or not. Some states had a "trigger law" in place that immediately made abortion illegal in that place, but Iowa was not one of these states. That meant us Iowans needed to make a decision. In July of twenty twenty-three, a new abortion law in Iowa was created and passed in a special session of the Iowa Legislature. Almost immediately, however, a lawsuit was filed, and the abortion-banning law was blocked. This created even more tension between "pro-choice" and "pro-life". Although the law was blocked, the fight continued. Ending the debate for a while, in June of twenty-four, the abortion law was unblocked and put into effect about a month later in July by Iowa's Supreme Court. Iowa's governor, Kim Reynolds, signed the law, stating "I proudly signed the fetal heartbeat bill into law." in an address at the Heartbeat Bill Signing. The final decision was a big win for most Iowans, but it was also a sorrowful loss for many others. However, no matter what side Iowans are on, they must follow this law, just like every other. This court fight, and eventually the signing of the law, has changed many people's lives, for better or for worse.

The final step to understanding this abortion law is to know what this means for Iowans today. In a poll, it was found that fifty-nine percent of Iowans are opposing of this new law, while five percent are unsure, and only thirty-seven percent are actually in favor of the law. This shows that with this new law in place, there are bound to be disagreements. These disagreements could come in the form of seeing debates and arguments about it over the news, or in public settings. You can also see the disagreements in people protesting the law, whether it be online, or in public in your local city. All of this concern shows in other ways. In the election coming up, abortion is one of the leading concerns for voters. People's views on abortion will also show in who they vote for, which affects Iowans whose leaders will be picked based on voters' opinions. Some of the people most affected by this are, of course, the women of Iowa. With this law, women's choices are limited when it comes to getting an abortion in this state. They are forced to either leave the state for an abortion, or risk having a pregnancy when they do not want one, or cannot have one due to their money, life conditions, etc. This obviously shows that women are affected the most with this ban, as of course they are the ones having the baby. Because of this, women's lives in Iowa could change because of this law. All of these affects are starting to show in the daily life of Iowans and people in every state with an abortion law like ours.

Truly understanding this fetal-heartbeat law starts with this. Understanding what the law is, why it was put in place, how it was created, and what it means for Iowans today is crucial knowledge. All in all, with abortion being a big topic in our country today, knowing what your state is doing about it is important information. Of course, this is only the beginning to the complex argument over abortion in not only our state, but our country as a whole.

About the author:

Emily Townsend is a high school student at Abraham Lincoln High School and participated in the 2024 ISBA Essay Contest.

Congratulations to our essay winners and all participants in this year's contest. Your voices remind us that the rule of law is not only a pillar of our society but also a living value carried forward by future leaders.

To read all the winning essays with full citations, visit https://www.iowabar.org/essay.

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