(Des Moines, Iowa) – State and national conservative leaders discussed wins and future goals for issues like abortion and education policy Friday at the Family Leadership Summit, with one of the group’s officials calling for further abortion restrictions in Iowa.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Family Leader, an influential conservative Christian organization, brought speakers to the gathering of an estimated 1,000 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. Family Leader Vice President Chuck Hurley, who works as an advocate and lobbyist at the Iowa Legislature, told the crowd that that conservative Christians have seen major successes in Iowa in recent years. One important, recent conservative win in Iowa, Hurley said, was the recent state Supreme Court abortion decision.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law Iowa’s six-week abortion ban at the 2023 Family Leadership Summit. A year later, speakers at the event celebrated the June Iowa Supreme Court decision to uphold the law — a significant win after the court struck down a similar so-called “fetal heartbeat” law that had been signed in 2018 last year. Under the latest court decision, most abortions will be illegal in Iowa after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, something that occurs as early as six weeks of pregnancy. There are exceptions to the ban in cases of rape and incest, if reported within specified time frames to law enforcement, a public health agency or a doctor, as well as when the medical procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Advocates for reproductive health care say the law will functionally ban a majority of abortions in Iowa, as many people are not aware they are pregnant at six weeks of gestation.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke on a panel about education hosted by Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines July 12, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Another victory highlighted at the event was the state’s education savings account (ESA) program, signed by Reynolds in January 2023. Much of the conversation centered on Iowa’s ESA program, providing public funding for private school tuition and associated fees. The program provides scholarships that match per-pupil funding at Iowa’s K-12 public schools — for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, and fund $7,826 per participating student.

The speakers also touched on the presidential race between presumptive nominees President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Trump has indicated he may announce his vice president pick at the Republican National Convention next week, with expected contenders including U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance and Tim Scott, as well as former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders have been floated as potential Trump running mates.