Utah Supreme Court upholds pause on abortion trigger law
Aug 1, 2024, 8:20 AM | Updated: 4:54 pm
The Capitol is pictured in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court upheld an injunction on an abortion trigger law Thursday morning. This means, at this time, abortions will stay legal in Utah until 18 weeks of pregnancy.
#BREAKING: The Utah Supreme court has ruled that the pause on Utah’s trigger ban, a near-total ban on abortions, will stay in place while the case goes to trial.
The decision means abortions will stay legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of pregnancy, for now. @KSL5TV #utpol #utleg pic.twitter.com/ZgoYnUotcN
— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) August 1, 2024
The court will uphold the injunction until the law has gone through a full trial. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas said “in the short-term” the law can proceed.
“The law … is on hold, and it will not be in play,” he said. “Instead, the current law … will be the law of the land, at least until the trial court can hear the trail.”
He said the trial will likely take a long time.
The trigger law went into place shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the United States Supreme Court. A temporary stay of the law was issued just a few days later.
Utah reacts to pause on abortion trigger law
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson called the decision a “temporary setback,” saying it will further delay the law.
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) August 1, 2024
Several organizations around Utah shared their opinions on the courts ruling.
Pro-Life Utah, Utah Eagle Forum and Abortion-Free Utah Coalition expressed their “deep sadness” over the ruling in a shared statement.
“The Utah Supreme Court’s decision stands in stark opposition to the values and beliefs held by the majority of Utahns,” the organizations said in the statement. “The loss of the lives of 6,000 future citizens and what they could have offered is a grim reminder that our judicial system has abandoned the call to protect ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'”
However, the Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis said “abortion must remain legal in Utah.”
“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,” she said.
Utah Governor candidate and member of the Utah House of Representatives Brian King said this ruling is a victory for families in Utah.
“While this case will now go back to the district court, by upholding the injunction, the Supreme Court made clear that the legislature and the governor likely overreached their authority and violated the constitutional rights of Utahns,” he said in the statement. “Despite today’s victory, this bill should never have been passed or signed into law in the first place. We shouldn’t have to rely on the courts to protect us from our own leaders.”
Planned Parenthood reacts
President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, Kathryn Boyd, stated in a press release that the decision means Planned Parenthood can continue to provide services to its patients.
“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. While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over,” Boyd said in the press release. “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.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.
