Utah Supreme Court upholds pause on Utah’s near total abortion ban

Aug 1, 2024, 8:24 AM | Updated: 7:12 pm

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that a pause on Utah’s so-called trigger ban will remain in place while the case is litigated.

The ruling means that abortions will stay legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of pregnancy while the merits of whether the law is constitutional are heard in the Third District court.

The justices ruled that the balance of harms “tipped in favor” of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah — called PPAU by the court — to keep the injunction that had been issued by Third District Court Judge Andrew Stone.

“The court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that PPAU and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the
injunction,” the opinion states. “Likewise, the court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that the balance of harms tipped in favor of enjoining SB174 while the parties litigate its constitutionality. Nor did the court act outside the bounds of its discretion when it concluded that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.”

State elected Democrats rejoiced while Republicans were disappointed over the decision.

Utahns react to the ruling

Planned Parenthood President and CEO, Katheryn Boyd celebrated the win but said their “fight was not over.”

“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. “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.”

“Today is a victory for Utahns’ civil rights and liberties,” Brittney Nystrom, executive Director of the ACLU of Utah, said of the ruling. “There are many reasons why Utahns might make the deeply personal decision to have an abortion. We should trust and respect people to decide what’s right for themselves and their families, and keep the government out of these personal medical decisions.”

The Utah Democratic Party said in a statement: “This decision is a victory for Utah families, because the last thing Utahns need to worry about when deciding how to grow their family is government interference.”

Utah House Democrat leader Angela Romero said the ban would be an overstep of state power.

Romero told KSL TV’s Darby Sparks that the decision was made by Senate-appointed judges, resulting in an example of working checks and balances in government.

“They can worry,” she said about state-elected Republicans’ reacting to the injunction, “but I don’t think the Utah State Legislature, or even the majority, are on the side of your everyday Utahn.”

Sen. Daniel McCay’s response to the injunction was to claim it delays the inevitable enforcement of Utah’s abortion ban, ultimately resulting in lives lost.

“That’s the one thing that is guaranteed from the injunction today,” McCay said at a Thursday morning press conference, “is that the unborn, the innocent, will lose their lives today because of these actions.”

Majority leaders say they will go another route in the meantime by looking to change the current time limit restriction from 18 weeks to something shorter.

“Today’s decision is a win,” Rep. Jen Dailey-Provost said.

“The Utah Supreme Court has rightly affirmed women’s autonomy, freedoms, and safety by upholding the injunction on restrictive abortion laws. This decision is a victory for reproductive health and personal autonomy, ensuring that women in Utah can continue to receive safe and legal care up to 18 weeks of pregnancy.”

The Utah Democrat gubernatorial ticket, Brian King and Rebekah Cummings stated: “Today’s ruling is a win for Utah’s families. As Utahns, we value agency and freedom, and we believe that the government has no place dictating the most personal, private decisions in our lives.”

In a dissenting conclusion, it said that “PPAU raises serious issues concerning SB174’s constitutionality,” and that “PPAU would suffer irreparable harm if the law were not enjoined, that the balance of harm tips in favor of an injunction, and that an injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson said they are “deeply disappointed” by the ruling.

Pro-Life Utah released a statement on the ruling, citing that the organization was “expressing deep sadness with today’s Utah Supreme Court ruling.”

“The decision made today is a grim reminder that our society has strayed far from the moral compass that once guided us,” Mary Taylor, President of Pro-Life Utah said in the statement.

Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said they were “deeply disappointed” by the ruling in a statement Thursday.

The trigger ban is Utah’s law from 2020, SB174, that took effect immediately upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, hence the name “trigger ban.”

The law effectively bans abortions except under limited circumstances like rape, incest, or if two maternal and fetal medicine doctors both determine a fetus has a uniformly diagnosable, lethal defect or severe brain abnormality.

The sponsor of Utah’s trigger ban, Utah Sen. Dan McCay, said the Legislature “will likely seek to take Utah’s 18-week abortion ban to a four or six week ban.”

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Utah Supreme Court upholds pause on Utah’s near total abortion ban