Legislature approves amended resolution to end Utah’s trigger abortion ban

SALT LAKE CITY — The Legislature gave final approval to an amended resolution that could make it easier for the state to end the hold on Utah’s trigger abortion ban.

HJR2, sponsored by Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, would raise the bar for judges to issue preliminary injunctions against laws, and would retroactively allow Utah to ask the courts to reconsider their decision to block the trigger ban while it decides on the constitutionality of the law.

After receiving backlash that the resolution’s retroactivity could impact a number of other ongoing cases, Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, the floor sponsor, introduced an amendment to clarify that the resolution only applies to court decisions related to laws passed by the Legislature.

Several family law attorneys argued the resolution could have the unintended consequence of removing a tool they regularly use to protect children in domestic relations cases. The Utah State Bar later took the unusual step of issuing a memo – obtained by KSL.com — against the resolution, saying it would increase court costs for those who had to refile briefs under the new rule and would “clog already overburdened court dockets.”

Brammer and McCay are both members of the bar. Brammer said the opposition to the resolution has been overblown and the bar had yet to provide evidence of litigation that would be impacted by HJR2.

“Without any substantial amount of real-life examples, the hypothetical ‘what if’ scenarios are nothing but hand-wringing puffery and not proper for legislative consideration,” he told KSL.com.

With McCay’s amendment, the resolution passed the Senate on Friday and cleared the House again on Tuesday. Having received the necessary two-thirds majority in both chambers, the rule is now in effect in Utah courts. Joint resolutions are not subject to gubernatorial veto.

While the resolution could accelerate an end to the preliminary injunction currently pausing Utah’s abortion ban, it would not have any impact on whether the Utah Supreme Court ultimately decides to uphold the law. And though the resolution is widely seen to be targeting the hold on Utah’s abortion law, even its proponents say it may have a negligible effect on the ban.

“I don’t see this rule weighing, you know, having much of a dispositive effect on the arguments at the Supreme Court,” Majority Assistant Whip Kirk Cullimore told reporters last week. “And so, although it seems like it was targeted at this specific law on this lawsuit, I don’t know that it’s really going to have an actual effect on the ongoing lawsuit.”

Still, opponents of the resolution have accused the Legislature of simply trying to change the court rules after receiving a temporary ruling they didn’t like.

“It should be alarming to everyone that legislators are willing to weaken the democratic structures of the state to change court orders that they disagree with,” said Karrie Galloway, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah president and CEO, in a statement. “Instead of altering the rules in the middle of the game by rewriting the standards for Utah’s courts, the Legislature should do its job and focus on providing more stability and security to Utah families.”