Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in the U.S. state of Utah
Abortion in Utah is legally performed under a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's trigger law, which bans abortion.[1] According to HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation.[2] Abortion was banned following the Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022.[3][4][5] Utah State Legislation enacted SB 174 in May 2020, which, upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made inducing an abortion a second-degree felony.[4][6][7] The law includes exceptions for pregnancies "caused by rape or incest," pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk, or "if two doctors say the fetus has a lethal defect."[6][4][7] Rape and incest exceptions will only be viable if the crimes were previously reported to law enforcement officials.[8]
The number of abortions performed annually in Utah has dropped over the decades with 4,796 abortions performed in 1990 and 2,922 performed in 2019.[10] In 2019, 61.8% of abortions performed in Utah were due to socioeconomic reasons.[4]
History
Legislative history
By 1950, the state legislature of Utah passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion, regardless of whether she went through with it, was guilty of a criminal offense.[11] Since the early 1980s, Planned Parenthood has been Utah's only Title X grantee and only abortion service provider in the state.[12]
The state was one of 23 states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement.[13] The informed consent materials in South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia given to women seeking abortions include counseling materials that say women who have abortions may have suicidal thoughts or experience "post-abortion traumatic stress syndrome," which is not recognized by American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association.[14] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication-induced abortions and private doctor offices in addition to abortion clinics.[15] There was a pending bill in Utah in early 2018 to prohibit women from requesting their doctors perform abortions as a result of getting a Down syndrome diagnosis during their pregnancies. The bill was co-sponsored by Republican state Sen. Curt Bramble.[16] In 2019, only 24% of the state legislators were female.[17]
In 2019, the Utah legislature passed a bill limiting abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy.[18] In 2020, the legislature passed Senate Bill 174 "Abortion Prohibition Amendments" sponsored by Daniel McCay.[19] The bill is a near-total ban on abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother’s health, but would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade was overturned.[18] The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597U.S. ___ (2022) later in 2022.[20][21] However, there is a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the near-total ban on abortion.[1] But according to another law, HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation.[2]
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by one, going from seven in 1982 to six in 1992.[22] In 1996, the state had seven abortion clinics and was one of only three to gain clinics in the period between 1982 and 1996.[23] In 2014, there were two abortion clinics in the state.[24] In 2014, 97% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 62% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[25] In 2017, there were nine Planned Parenthood clinics, of which one offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 727,940 women aged 15–49.[26] In March 2019, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah was the only abortion provider in the state.[12]
Statistics
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[27] In 1990, 202,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[22] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 290 abortions, 10 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 60 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 20 abortions for women of all other races.[28] In 2014, 51% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases with 47% saying it should be legal.[9] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to the national average of 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.[29] In 2022, a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey found 46% of Utahns said abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest, or threats to mothers’ health.[19]
Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[23]
Census division and state
Number
Rate
% change 1992–1996
1992
1995
1996
1992
1995
1996
US total
1,528,930
1,363,690
1,365,730
25.9
22.9
22.9
–12
Mountain
69,600
63,390
67,020
21
17.9
18.6
–12
Arizona
20,600
18,120
19,310
24.1
19.1
19.8
–18
Colorado
19,880
15,690
18,310
23.6
18
20.9
–12
Idaho
1,710
1,500
1,600
7.2
5.8
6.1
–15
Montana
3,300
3,010
2,900
18.2
16.2
15.6
–14
Nevada
13,300
15,600
15,450
44.2
46.7
44.6
1
New Mexico
6,410
5,450
5,470
17.7
14.4
14.4
–19
Utah
3,940
3,740
3,700
9.3
8.1
7.8
–16
Wyoming
460
280
280
4.3
2.7
2.7
–37
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births
Public responses
Protests
In a 2019 national "Stop the Bans" protest, hundreds of Utahns gathered to protest several laws which limited or banned abortion across the United States. The largest protest took place outside the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. A smaller protest also took place in the city of Provo. In both events, protesters called on state legislators not to pass any laws further restricting abortion. The protests also centered around bills from other states, particularly Ohio, Alabama, and other southern states. [33]
The position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that "elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God" but that abortion may be justified where the pregnancy endangers life of the mother, where the pregnancy is the outcome of rape or incest, or the fetus is not viable.[38][39]
^Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR2133995. PMID1269687.
