SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 15, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The League of Women Voters of Utah, along with 37 people in business, is filing an Amicus Brief in support of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah in its case to challenge Utah’s trigger law banning abortion in the state.
Amicus briefs are filed by those who are not party to the case, but seek to supply additional information or arguments the court may want to consider before making a ruling.
The League announced Wednesday it will join a news conference Thursday scheduled by “a group of religious congregations, organizations and clergy — representing six different faiths, which has filed a separate brief in the case.”
The League of Women Voters says its amicus brief “argues that the law violates the Utah Constitution’s Equal Rights provision by preventing women from ‘enjoy[ing] equally all civil . . . rights and privileges.’ It denies pregnant women (but not men) standard reproductive health care. It forces most women who become pregnant to carry the fetus to term and give birth, despite greater risks to their health.
“In contrast, no laws force men to devote their bodies to giving life to another by, for example, requiring blood donations or bone marrow donations or kidney donations to keep their children alive. Only pregnant women are ever required to devote their bodies to giving life to another being.”
In requiring most pregnancies to result in motherhood, the statement says, “this law circumscribes and limits women’s ability to participate as equal citizens in society. The majority of women who seek abortions do so because they cannot afford a child, and nearly half of women seeking abortion already have children they are struggling to care for.
“A large body of research shows that being denied an abortion limits women’s education, occupations, labor force participation and earnings, and harms the children they already have. Yet the vast majority of women forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term do not place the child for adoption, but keep the child to raise as best they can. Utah’s criminal abortion ban will result in more children being raised in deeper poverty.”
Women’s ability to fully participate in the workforce is a critical issue for every business in Utah, the League’s statement says.
“Because contraception is neither free nor foolproof, abortion must remain available to allow women and families to plan when to have children. The vast majority of women expect abortion to be covered in their health plans and the majority of college educated workers indicate they would not apply to a job in a state that has banned abortion. This abortion ban will not only harm women and their children — it will harm our entire economy.
“For all these reasons we urge the Utah Supreme Court to affirm the ruling of the district court and keep abortion safe and legal.”
The news conference is scheduled for noon Thursday near the south steps of the Utah State Capitol.
