Utah Legislators Announce Plans To Propose Bill Banning Abortion

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 03 Oct 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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A group of conservative Utah legislators announced Tuesday that they plan to sponsor legislation during the next session that would ban abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the lives of pregnant women, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The group also pledged that if their proposal passes, they plan to fight any legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Utah Legislature passed a ban on abortion in 1991 and the state spent years defending the law in the courts. Supporters of the ban expected that the contributions from private donors and organizations would be sufficient to fight the legal challenge, but very little was contributed. Ultimately, the state spent about $1 million in legal fees defending the ban, but the courts blocked enforcement of it, according to the Tribune. Rep. Stephen Sandstrom (R), a member of the group proposing the ban, said that this time it will be different because organizations already have committed funding for a potential legal challenge. Rep. Carl Wimmer (R), who was joined by about 60 antiabortion advocates Tuesday, said that the group of legislators proposing the legislation has "had enough of the slaughter of innocents" and is going to "step up" and "do something about it."

Missy Bird, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Council, estimates that between $2 million and $10 million could be spent on fighting the ban in court. "Is this Legislature doing what the people want it to do?" Bird asked, adding, "[I]s this the way to prevent abortion from happening in Utah?" Opponents of the legislation include Rep. Christine Johnson (D), who called the announcement a "political stunt," adding that the money should be spent on comprehensive sex education and birth control instead. Lisa Roskelly, spokesperson for Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), said the governor will look at the proposal but would "have to consider whether it is the best use of resources given the current economic situation." Huntsman opposes abortion rights (Gehrke, Salt Lake Tribune, 10/1).

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