American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Utah (ACLU of Utah) issued the following statement after the passage of HB136 (Abortion Amendments) by the Utah Legislature earlier tonight:
Download a PDF of this press release (PDF)
The ACLU of Utah believes that laws banning abortion prior to viability, like HB136, are in clear violation of a woman’s constitutionally protected right to an abortion.
And the courts agree.
The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held for over 40 years that states may not ban abortion prior to viability. The Court has also made clear that states are prohibited from drawing a line at a particular number of weeks to establish fetal viability. When the Utah Legislature passed a law in the early 1990s to ban abortions after 20 weeks, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it was unconstitutional. This means legal challenges to HB136 have direct case law, on point, within our circuit, that pre-viability abortion restrictions are unconstitutional.
If HB136 is signed into law, the ACLU of Utah, together with our partners in the state, will pursue a lawsuit in federal court to stop this violation of a woman’s constitutionally protected right to an abortion.
Media Contacts (available tonight)
Marina Lowe
Legislative and Policy Counsel
mlowe@acluutah.org
(cell) 415-706-0163
Jason Stevenson
Communications Manager
jstevenson@acluutah.org
(cell) 617-290-8188
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For more information about the ACLU of Utah or to be added to our media contact list, contact Jason Stevenson, Strategic Communications Manager, at (617) 290-8188 (cell), or email, at jstevenson@acluutah.org
