Planned Parenthood of Utah sues state government to block abortion trigger law

The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah filed a lawsuit against the state government on Friday in order to block a new abortion law that went into effect on Friday after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. 

PPAU filed the suit after preparing to do so for a long time, saying they had been anticipating the high court’s move since the Trump administration installed three SCOTUS justices in four years. “We’ve been on notice for a while,” PPAU President Karrie Galloway told The Washington Post. “We’ve been on notice since the last administration wiggled their way into three court nominations. We knew what was the writing on the walls.”

Utah’s new law bans abortions with only a few exceptions, such as if the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. The lawsuit filed by PPAU reads in part, “If left in place, the Criminal Abortion Ban will be catastrophic for Utahns. The Act will force some Utahns seeking abortion to instead carry pregnancies to term against their will, with all of the physical, emotional, and financial costs that entails.”

PPAU is also seeking a restraining order that would prevent Utah officials from enforcing the new abortion law. The punishment for anyone who violates the trigger law is up to 15 years in prison, and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Utah’s Republican Attorney General Sean Reyes, who is named in the lawsuit, said in a statement to the Salt Lake Tribune the Supreme Court “has returned the question of abortion to the states. And the Utah legislature has answered that question,” Reyes said. “My office will do its duty to defend the state law against any and all potential legal challenges.”