Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is poised to sign a bill that would ban abortion clinics from operating within the state, leaving only hospitals as a place for residents to seek access to the procedure.
The state legislature passed a bill earlier this week effectively banning abortion clinics from operating in the Beehive State, granting a win to anti-abortion lawmakers while several abortion restrictions in the state are currently on hold pending court injunctions. Utah lawmakers in the House and Senate approved the legislation earlier this week, sending the bill to Cox’s desk for his signature.
UTAH JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS STATE ABORTION BAN
Cox told reporters he intends to sign the legislation despite pushback from several abortion rights groups, such as the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, which operates three of the state’s four abortion clinics. The legislation also clarifies the definition of abortion after healthcare providers expressed concerns about how exceptions for the procedure are worded in the state law — a provision Cox said was a necessary compromise.
“One of the concerns with the trigger bill that medical providers had across the state was there was a lack of clarity that would have made it hard for them to perform legal abortions,” Cox said on Friday.
The newly passed law would require all abortion procedures, whether through surgery or medication, to be performed by hospitals. The legislation would also discontinue abortion clinic licensing for new centers after May 2 and block clinics from operating once their current licenses expire.
The decision comes less than a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, which ended nationwide access to abortion and returned the question of its legality back to the individual states. Utah is among a number of states that had abortion trigger laws in place, which effectively banned the procedure upon the Supreme Court’s decision.
The Supreme Court’s ruling triggered two abortion bans in Utah, one that was passed in 2019 that banned the procedure after 18 weeks and another passed in 2020 that banned abortions in all cases with some exceptions. However, the state’s Planned Parenthood branch sued over the 2020 abortion law, prompting a state court to delay it from taking effect until legal challenges are sorted out.
Until then, the state will operate under its 2018 abortion ban.
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Several groups have called on Cox to veto the measure, urging the Republican governor not to push “essential abortion care out of reach.”
“Every person can make the best decision for themselves and their family about whether and when to have a child without undue political interference,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah wrote to Cox in a letter. “We have stated loudly and repeatedly during this Legislative Session that healthcare decisions should be between the patient, their family, and medical professionals, not politicians. Because [the bill] will compromise access to critical health care and violate the rights of Utah families, you should veto it.”
