Utah’s near-total abortion ban will remain on hold until a lower court weighs its constitutionality
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s near-total abortion ban will remain on hold after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality.
With the ruling, abortion remains legal up to 18 weeks under another state law that served as a fallback when abortion rights were thrown into limbo.
The panel wrote in its opinion that Planned Parenthood of Utah had the legal standing to challenge the state’s abortion-inducing law, and that a lower court acted within its authority when it initially blocked the ban.
Their decision only suspends the restrictions in the event of a lawsuit and does not determine the final outcome of the state’s abortion policy. The case will now return to a lower court to determine whether the law is constitutional.
The trigger law, which remains pending, would ban abortions except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger or there is a fatal fetal abnormality. A separate state law passed this year would also allow abortions up to 15 weeks into a pregnancy in cases of rape or incest.
Utah lawmakers in 2020 passed the trigger law — one of the most restrictive in the country — to automatically ban most abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Roe fell in June 2022Abortion rights advocates in Utah immediately challenged the law and a district court judge put on hold a few days later.
Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, celebrated the decision Thursday and said she hopes the lower court will ultimately strike down the trigger law so they can continue serving patients without political interference.
“Today’s decision means our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other critical reproductive services right here in Utah,” Boyd said. “While we celebrate this victory, we know the fight is not over.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision, most Republican-led states have implemented bans or heavy restrictions on abortion. Currently, 14 states have bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four other states have bans that go into effect after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women realize they are pregnant.
Besides Utah’s, the only other ban currently on hold due to a court ruling is in neighboring state. Wyoming.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal Constitution did not provide for a right to abortion, a key legal question was whether state constitutions contained provisions protecting access to abortion. State constitutions differ, and state courts have reached different conclusions. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an abortion ban passed in 1864 could be enforced, but lawmakers quickly repealed it.
Abortion will be a major issue in the November elections. Referendum measures related to abortion Voters have been asked to vote in at least six states. In all seven statewide measures passed since Roe was overturned, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates.
