Utah's near-total abortion ban to remain blocked until lower court assesses its constitutionality

SALT LAKE CITY -- A near-total abortion ban will remain on hold in Utah after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality.

Democrats cheered the decision, which means that abortion will, at least for now, remain legal up to 18 weeks under another state law that has served as a fallback as abortion rights have been thrown into limbo.

The panel wrote in its opinion that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had legal standing to challenge the state's abortion trigger law, and that a lower court acted within its purview when it initially blocked the ban.

Their ruling only affects whether the restrictions remain on pause amid further legal proceedings and does not decide the final outcome of abortion policy in the state. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to determine whether the law is constitutional.

The trigger law that remains on hold would prohibit abortions except in cases when the mother’s life is at risk or there is a fatal fetal abnormality. A separate state law passed last year also allows abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest.

Utah lawmakers passed the trigger law — one of the most restrictive in the nation — in 2020 to automatically ban most abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. When Roe fell in June 2022, abortion rights advocates in Utah immediately challenged the law, and a district court judge put it on hold a few days later.

Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, celebrated the ruling Thursday and said she hopes the lower court will ultimately strike down the trigger law so they can continue serving patients without political interference.

“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,” Boyd said. “While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over.”

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he was disappointed by the court further delaying the law’s implementation, but hopes it will only be a temporary setback.

Sen. Dan McKay, the sponsor of the trigger law, told reporters Thursday after the ruling that the Legislature will likely seek to bring down the existing 18-week limit to a six-week limit as a “short term solution” while the trigger law is tied up in litigation. A special legislative session on abortion is a possibility this year, he said.

In a joint statement, Utah’s Republican legislative leaders, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, accused the state Supreme Court of undermining the Legislature’s constitutional authority to enact laws for the people of Utah.

Several other Republicans who had worked to pass the law, including Rep. Karianne Lisonbee of Davis County, criticized the court for keeping it on hold.

“It’s deeply unfortunate that Utah’s strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision, resulting in the deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state," Lisonbee said.

Meanwhile, House Democrats praised the decision and urged their district court colleagues who will be reviewing the law to consider how it could jeopardize the health and well-being of Utah residents.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision, most Republican-led states have implemented abortion bans or heavy restrictions. Currently, 14 states are enforcing bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks of pregnancy — before many women realize they’re pregnant.

Besides Utah’s, the only other ban currently on hold due to a court order is in neighboring Wyoming.

When the U.S. Supreme Court determined there was no right to abortion in the federal Constitution, a key legal question became whether state constitutions have provisions that protect abortion access. State constitutions differ, and state courts have come to different conclusions. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an abortion ban adopted in 1864 could be enforced — but lawmakers quickly repealed it.

Abortion figures to be a major issue in November’s elections, with abortion-related ballot measures going before voters in at least six states. In the seven statewide measures held since Roe was overturned, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates each time.