The Iowa District Court enforced on Monday a law banning abortions six weeks after pregnancy. Iowa is the 22nd state to impose restrictions on abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in 2022. House File 732 bans most abortions after cardiac activity is detected in the embryo. It previously survived a legal challenge in the US Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision after it was passed in the Iowa legislature’s marathon special session on July 12.

The law prohibits abortions once cardiac activity, which can occur as early as six weeks into pregnancy before women realize they are pregnant, is detected. The law includes exceptions for cases of rape and incest, provided that they are reported within specific time frames, and for medical emergencies that threaten the lives of mothers.

Iowa’s governor Kim Reynolds, a staunch supporter of the legislation, hailed the court’s decision as “a victory for life” and the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenelser called it a “historic day for Iowa.” On the other hand, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Leah Vanden Bosch, development and outreach director at the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, condemned the law. Harris called on Americans to vote after the ban was enforced on Monday and Bosch said the law violates human rights and does not stop the need for abortions.

This is part of a broader trend of restrictive abortion measures in Midwest and Southern US that comes after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, effectively allowing states to be able to set their abortion laws.