On July 29, the day Iowa's “fetal heartbeat” law — which bans abortions in the state after six weeks — took effect, Fox News covered the ban for less than a minute, mentioning it only 2 times. Both mentions occurred during segments focused on Democratic candidates' campaign messaging rather than segments detailing the ban and its consequences. The network failed to air a full segment dedicated to the new law.

CNN allocated 5 segments to the ban, mentioning it another 4 times and airing 3 teasers for a total of 12 minutes. Meanwhile, MSNBC offered the most robust coverage, dedicating 8 segments to the ban for a total of nearly 30 minutes, including several segments with abortion rights activists.

The so-called “fetal heartbeat” law has significantly curtailed access to abortion services, making Iowa one of the most restrictive states in the country for reproductive rights. The law prohibits abortions after the first signs of cardiac activity are detected, typically around six weeks — before most people know they are pregnant, which allows the law to function as a near-total ban. In a 2023 poll, the majority of Iowans said abortion should be legal “in all or most cases.” 

The impact of the ban extends beyond the state's borders — previously, Iowa served as a crucial access point for abortion care in the Midwest region. With this new restriction, individuals seeking abortions may need to travel even greater distances to states with less restrictive laws, placing an additional burden on the already strained abortion services in neighboring states.

On MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart Reports, president of Planned Parenthood Alexis McGill Johnson explained the harsh impact of abortion bans:

ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON (PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESIDENT): Obviously it's a devastating day for Iowans. We know the impact of this ban. Iowa is now the 22nd state to ban access to abortion. We already know in the 21 states that have bans, 43% of women no longer have full access to abortion in their states. Many will have to travel out, they already are. And many will be forced into pregnancy. And so essentially Iowa has told us that they no longer trust women to make decisions about their own bodies.

Fox News, which long pushed for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion bans, is once again turning audiences’ attention away from an extreme ban and its cruel consequences — just like it has for a growing catalog of heartbreaking stories about the people who suffer because of the bans the network spent years advocating for.

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC for any of the terms “Iowa,” “court,” “ban,” “amendment,” “Roe,” “Wade,” or “ballot” or any spelling of the term “Reynolds” within close proximity of the term “abortion” or any variation of any of the terms “reproductive,” “pregnant,” or “six weeks” on July 29, 2024, when Iowa's Fetal Heartbeat Law banning abortion after six weeks took effect.

We timed segments, which we defined as instances when Iowa's fetal heartbeat law banning abortion after 6 weeks was the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of the ban. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed the ban with one another.

We also timed mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned the ban without another speaker in the segment engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promoted a segment about the ban scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

We rounded all times to the nearest minute.