Op-ed: Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?

August 28, 2024 | Religion Dispatches

“As abortion rights defenders in Iowa and elsewhere navigate an increasingly restrictive legislative environment, RFRA challenges are only likely to increase—and they have the critical benefit of elevating the abortion stories of religious people.”

– Dr. Christine Ryan, LRRP

LRRP’s Dr. @ChristineRiain wrote for @RDispatches on how Iowa’s new #RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) could provide exemptions based on religious beliefs, a strategy gaining traction in states like Indiana: https://t.co/BNdzjz09mt

— The Law, Rights, & Religion Project (@LawRtsReligion) September 4, 2024

In Religion Dispatches, LRRP's Dr. Christine Ryan looks at Iowa's six-week abortion ban, which took effect in July 2024 after the Iowa Supreme Court lifted an injunction. A dissenting justice pointed to the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and to Indiana, where a court found a similar ban violated the religious freedom of people whose beliefs call for abortion. Ryan explains why that argument is strong, and why it matters for bringing religious people's abortion stories into the debate.