The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to protect the lives of all preborn humans in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the so-called right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.

The court, now composed almost entirely of Republican appointees, concluded that the previous liberal court wrongly decided abortion as among the fundamental privacy rights guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution and federal law.

Friday’s ruling comes amid expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. If that happens, Iowa lawmakers could ban abortion without completing the lengthy process of amending the state constitution.

The Iowa decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by abortion providers who challenged a 2020 law that required a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can kill her child. A judge who struck down the law cited the state high court’s 2018 ruling. The judge also concluded that the law violated rules prohibiting passage of bills with more than one subject.

The state Supreme Court returned the waiting-period case to district court.

In its 2018 ruling, decided by a 5-2 vote, the court said “autonomy and dominion over one’s body go to the very heart of what it means to be free.”