Gov. Reynolds joins 11 governors in brief to overturn previous abortion rulings

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Governor Kim Reynolds says she is requesting to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Reynolds and 11 other Republican governors signed onto a legal brief file.

The file urges the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn previous abortion rulings, including Roe v. Wade, and instead, allow states to enact legislation.

“For years, democratically elected representatives in states like Iowa have tried to defend innocent human life only to be stymied by the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade,” said Gov. Reynolds. “For too long, this precedent has trampled on state sovereignty and destroyed the lives of millions of unborn babies. I am proud to join with governors from across the country to take a stand for life and democratic self-government.”

In 2018, Reynolds signed a law which would have banned most abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.

A judge later struck it down.

“The Court should take this opportunity to correct the mistakes in its abortion jurisprudence and recognize that the text and original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment have nothing to do with abortion. Rather than creating a federal constitutional right, the Court should leave regulating abortion to the States, where the people may act through the democratic process. This Court should hold as much—and in the process, help restore the constitutional (but currently disrupted) balance between the Federal Government and the States,” the governors stated in the amicus brief.

The following governors signed the brief: Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama, Governor Douglas A. Ducey of Arizona, Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Governor Brian K. Kemp of Georgia, Governor Brad Little of Idaho, Governor Michael L. Parson of Missouri, Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana, Governor J. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, and Governor Greg Abbott of Texas.

See the full amicus brief here.

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