Abortion Restrictions

According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, there were just five reported abortions in the state in 2023. A sharp decline from previous years, that number does not appear to reflect the reality of abortion access in the state since strict abortion bans went into effect.

Doctors in states with strict abortion restrictions say an increasing number of pregnant women are seeking early prenatal testing. They're hoping to detect serious problems while they still have time to choose whether to continue the pregnancy.

A year after the constitutional right to abortion was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Planned Parenthood of Utah is hunkered down in two legal battles to protect abortion rights in the state.

“This isn’t like a ‘win-win.’ This is a small victory because our health and personal freedoms are still at stake,” said Candida Duran Taveras, Planned Parenthood of Utah’s director of community engagement.

Judge Andrew Stone on Tuesday granted a request from Planned Parenthood to delay implementing a law that would have stopped abortion clinics from getting licenses beginning on Wednesday. The organization argues the ban signed into law earlier this year will effectively end access to abortion in Utah.

The law is scheduled to take effect May 3, but the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union hope to block it.

Planned Parenthood and ACLU of Utah filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a new Utah law that would ban abortion clinics. The law, signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in March, doesn't take effect until May 3.

The decision by Utah’s Republican governor to approve legislation that bans abortions clinics is raising concerns about how already overburdened hospitals will accommodate becoming the only place for legal abortions in the state.

Lawmakers passed a record 575 bills this session. Democrats, however, felt like the session was historic for the wrong reasons.

Cox told reporters in February that he planned on signing the measure, which also clarifies the definition of abortion to address legal liability concerns providers voiced about the way exceptions are worded in state law — a provision Republicans called a compromise.

In this monthly news conference, the governor said he is for cleaning the state's air but against the medical use of magic mushrooms.

HJR2 would change the rules that govern how Utah judges issue injunctions and could impact some high-profile cases.