On Thursday, Aug. 1, the Utah Supreme Court upheld a block on a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in Utah.
The Utah State Legislature requested that the Utah Supreme Court remove an injunction put on the 2020 Abortion Prohibition Amendments bill (SB 174) by the Utah’s 3rd District Court, which the Supreme Court rejected. Current abortion law in Utah allows legal abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy, and this law will stand until the district court can decide if the bill is constitutional.
The abortion ban bill passed in 2020 by the Utah State Legislature and officially went into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, according to the Utah Senate. However, the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah questioned the bill’s constitutionality, stating the ban will take away rights to choose one’s family composition and relationships, then challenged the bill on June 25, 2022. This challenge has kept a hold on the bill since then, and because of the court’s ruling on Aug. 1, the bill is still on hold.
The State of Utah then requested the Utah Supreme Court to review and remove the injunction, claiming Planned Parenthood had no standing to challenge the ban and the district court abused its judgment power when it placed the injunction, according to the official court decision. However, the Utah Supreme Court disagreed and ruled to keep the injunction 4-1.
“The court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that PPAU and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the injunction,” the Utah Supreme Court said in their ruling. “Likewise, the court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that the balance of harms tipped in favor of enjoining SB 174 while the parties litigate its constitutionality.”
Utah State Senator Daniel McCay, who sponsored the abortion ban bill in 2020, then proposed a special legislative session to decrease the legal gestational age to perform an abortion from 18 weeks to 6 weeks in a press conference shortly after the ruling. He also believed the court would eventually find the abortion ban to be constitutional.
“Over 6,000 unborn babies have lost their lives following a Utah court's injunction on our state's abortion law,” McCay said in an X post. “Today's decision once again undermines the constitutional and proper process for creating laws in the Legislature by legislating from the courts. I will never stop advocating for the rights of the unborn, and I'm committed to finding a path to prevent the loss of innocent unborn lives.”
Other Utah government officials also opposed the ruling. Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams expressed his disappointment towards the court decision and said he will persist in advocating for the abortion ban in a post on X.
“Through this ruling, the Utah Supreme Court is undermining the constitutional authority of the Legislature to enact laws as elected representatives of the people of Utah,” he said in a joint statement with Utah Speaker of the House Mike Schultz.
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) August 1, 2024
However, Planned Parenthood and abortion advocates celebrated the court ruling. Kathryn Boyd, the president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said the effort to keep abortion legal in Utah does not end with the recent court ruling.
“Today’s decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah,” Boyd said in a statement. “Planned Parenthood Association of Utah looks forward to this unconstitutional law being permanently struck down so that we can continue to provide quality, affordable health care to Utahns, free from political interference.”
Utahns deserve to get the care they need — including abortion. And for now, they can continue to make their own health care decisions without politicians interfering. 💕 https://t.co/ESv9YgEzwG
— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) August 1, 2024
BYU physics and astronomy senior Raymond Kelly said a total ban on abortion is not reasonable, and the government should work to reduce abortion by directing their attention to the reasons why one receives an abortion. Kelly also cited The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ position on abortion, which states abortion is justified in instances of rape, incest, the mother’s life at risk or severe defects to the fetus.
“If you put in law that it has to be only allowed in one of these circumstances, people who may not be able to or want to prove rape/incest legally will be denied access to abortion,” Kelly said. “I think that putting legal hurdles in front of people who are already suffering so much is not right.”
Mia Morgan, a junior in the BYU environmental science program, emphasized the United States values the separation of church and state, stating personal opinions on abortion should not hinder another person’s right to decide for themselves.
“Whether or not abortions are legal, they will still happen, and allowing safe and legal access to abortions reduces the likelihood that they will be performed unsafely,” Morgan said. “There are more effective ways to reduce abortion rates without outright banning them, such as comprehensive sex education, improved foster care and adoption systems, universal access to contraception and initiatives to provide assistance to low income and disadvantaged mothers after they’ve given birth.”
However, BYU political science senior Jonathan Harman focused his opinion of the abortion ban on what the Church has said regarding abortion, stating he believes abortion is morally evil as it ends the child’s life in the womb. He said members within the Church should fight to protect life, and he believed this fight should also take place in politics.
“As the brethren, like President Nelson, have noted in the past, the vast majority of abortion cases are elective and are not for rape or the life of the mother,” Harman said. “Abortion even as early as the Utah Supreme Court now allows, still deprives a child life without due process. Of course, there should be exceptions for rape and the life of the mother, but those cases, especially the life of the mother, are relatively rare.”
The timeline of the district court decision on the constitutionality of the abortion ban is unknown, but Planned Parenthood predicted the trial may take several months.