Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has defended signing a six-week abortion ban after former President Donald Trump said Florida’s heartbeat ban is a “terrible thing.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, supported Ms. Reynolds’s remarks, saying that President Trump was “wrong to attack the heartbeat bill as ‘terrible.'”
Ms. Reynolds signed Iowa’s abortion ban into law in July. The state passed a similar version of the law in 2018, but a court halted it because Roe v. Wade was still in effect.
President Trump, who took credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, had criticized Mr. DeSantis’s signing of a six-week abortion ban, the stage of pregnancy when a fetal heartbeat is commonly detected.
President Trump described his approach to a potential federal abortion ban while acknowledging the polarizing nature of the abortion issue.
He said he'd attempt to create consensus by having both sides of the debate agree on a cut-off number of weeks. He noted that those who advocated for late-term abortions are an extreme minority, adding that “92 percent of the Democrats don’t want to see abortion after a certain period of time.”
President Trump said “no,” when asked if he would sign a 15-week ban, which is early into the second trimester.
Furthermore, he contended that “the number of weeks is more important” than whether the consensus he hoped to bring could result in state-level action instead of a federal ban.
He called out Mr. DeSantis, one of his opponents in the race for the GOP 2024 nomination, for Florida’s six-week abortion ban. President Trump did not specify a reason for his criticism but noted that he believes there should be exceptions to any ban.
“I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” President Trump said.
“I think people should have exceptions,” he added. “I think if it’s rape or incest or the life of the mother, I think you have to have exceptions. It’s very important.”
President Trump has faced backlash for his comments from supporters of the bans.
On Tuesday, a super PAC supporting Mr. DeSantis’s presidential bid, Never Back Down, ran an ad supporting Iowa’s ban while calling out President Trump’s remarks. The ad praised Mr. DeSantis for “promoting a culture of life” by signing the six-week ban.
“We have delivered in Florida on promoting a culture of life and that means signing the heartbeat bill into law. It was the right thing to do. Don’t let anyone tell you it wasn’t,” the ad states.
Iowa’s governor has not endorsed either President Trump’s or Mr. DeSantis’s bids for president, opting to remain neutral.
“I’m remaining neutral, but I don’t just want to rule it out down the road,“ Ms. Reynolds told Fox News on Sunday. ”I think it’s really important right now to encourage candidates to come to Iowa.”
This stance has previously drawn criticism from President Trump. In July, President Trump claimed responsibility for Ms. Reynolds’ winning the governorship, saying he endorsed her when “she fell behind” and held “big rallies” to help her win.
“Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events!” he wrote on Truth Social.
