MINNEAPOLIS — A victory by abortion foes in the Iowa legislature will reverberate here Minnesota, according to Planned Parenthood North Central States chief medical officer Sarah Traxler.
Women who can no longer legally obtain abortions in that state will now go elsewhere, including Minnesota, if they have the means and opportunity to travel.
"Our patient navigators will connect with patients who don't meet the law's requirements to set them up with appointments in other states and get them the resources to access care," Dr. Traxler told reporters in a news conference.
The new Iowa law bars abortions in most cases where a fetal heartbeat is detected by ultrasound, typically around 6 weeks gestational age. Traxler said some women don't realize they're expecting until they've passed the six-week mark.
"If somebody is less than six weeks pregnant based on their last menstrual period, we will go ahead and schedule them in Iowa," Dr. Traxler explained. "The soonest some cardiac activity can be detected is as early as six weeks, sometimes it’s after that, sometimes it’s before that."
Planned Parenthood has been gearing up for the Iowa ban both here in Minnesota and in Nebraska, where abortions are banned after 12 weeks. Traxler said Planned Parenthood is also expecting an influx of patients from Missouri, who had been able to travel to Iowa for abortions until Monday.
"We invested in our border communities where abortion remains legal. We expanded our capacity at health centers in Mankato and Minneapolis, as well as in Omaha, where we are tripling our patient capacity by increasing our exam rooms from four to sixteen."
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Traxler said the organization continues to provide other women’s health care services in Iowa, including annual exams, birth control, SDI testing and treatment, and cancer screening. Planned Parenthood North Central States is based in Minnesota, but has clinics in Iowa, Nebraska, and both South and North Dakota, and North Dakota.
The new Iowa law is also playing into presidential politics. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, issued a message on social media Monday.
"This ban is going to take effect before many women even know they're pregnant. And what this means is one in three women of reproductive age lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban," Harris posted. She vowed to sign legislation restoring abortion rights nationally if it comes to her desk as president.
Former President Trump, at his rally in Saint Cloud Saturday, thanked the six conservative Supreme Court justices for their decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
"Our position is that abortion is now back to the states. They've wanted to have this," Trump told the capacity crowd at Herb Brooks Arena.
"Getting it (the abortion issue) back to the states puts the question where it belongs, with a vote of the people, and it’s over time it’s going to work out incredibly well."