June 16 (Reuters) - Iowa's highest court did not revive a 2018 ban on most abortions on Friday, meaning that abortion will remain legal in the state up to 20 weeks of pregnancy for now. Iowa passed a law banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks, in 2018. The law was blocked because of the U.S. Supreme Court's longstanding 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. The Supreme Court overturned Roe last year, and Reynolds immediately sought to revive the 2018 law. The trial court judge said there was no legal mechanism for doing that, and three Supreme Court justices agreed.

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Persons: Kim Reynolds, Roe, Wade, Alexis McGill Johnson, Chris Schandevel, today's, Reynolds, Thomas Waterman, Christopher McDonald, inequitable, Waterman, McDonald, Dana Leanne Oxley, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Republican, Planned, U.S, Thomson Locations: Iowa, U.S ., Roe, New York