SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 2, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah judge has stopped a new law from taking effect that would have banned abortion clinics in the state.
Third District Judge Andrew Stone granted the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah’s request for a preliminary injunction in a ruling Tuesday, calling the Utah Legislature’s objective in enacting the ban “nebulous” and allowing clinics to continue providing abortions while he considers a legal challenge to the law.
House Bill 467 was passed by the Utah Legislature during its 2023 general session and signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 15.
The controversial bill calls for all abortions to be performed only at hospitals, bans the licensing of abortion clinics and phases out existing licenses. It was set to take effect Wednesday.
PPAU filed a legal challenge to HB467, saying it “would functionally eliminate access to abortion in the state.”
“Because licensed clinics rather than hospitals provide over 95% of abortions in Utah, and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah health centers are not presently licensed as hospitals, this law amounts to a functional abortion ban across the state,” the reproductive health care provider stated in a news release.
PPAU contends the law violates the Utah Constitution by banning abortion at licensed clinics but allowing it at hospitals, even though “outpatient clinics provide abortion care just as safely and at far lower cost than hospitals,” the release states.
“The court’s decision today allows people in Utah to breathe a huge sigh of relief,” said Sarah Stoesz, interim president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. “It means that clinics can continue providing essential health care to our patients, who for months have lived in a state of chaos and confusion over the impact of this law on their lives.”
HB467 makes several other changes to Utah abortion laws, including removing exceptions for rape and incest on receiving an abortion after the state’s current limit of 18 weeks of a pregnancy.
“It is obvious to everyone that HB467 is an abortion ban that will threaten women’s lives and the well-being of families. … It would force Planned Parenthood health centers and other providers to turn away those seeking legal health care that we are trained and ready to provide,” Stoesz said.
PPAU’s legal challenge to HB467 was filed as part of its lawsuit against the state’s trigger ban law, which would have banned nearly all abortions in Utah if not enjoined by the court last summer.
“While we welcome this victory, the threat to Utahns’ health and personal freedom remains dire as politicians continue to undermine our judicial process and fight the injunction against Utah’s trigger ban,” Stoesz said. “Despite these unconscionable attacks, we will continue to defend Utahns’ lives, their access to health care, and their constitutionally guaranteed rights, no matter what.”
NOTE: UPI contributed to this report.
