SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -
A Utah legislative interim committee has advanced a bill that would allow prosecutors to seek criminal charges against women who seek late-term abortions. Under the proposal, a woman could be charged with a second-degree felony if she intentionally aborts an unborn child after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Late-term abortions are already illegal in Utah, but women cannot be held criminally liable. The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Carl Wimmer of Herriman, says he wants to remove that provision from the law.
The bill is in response to the case of a pregnant teen from Vernal who allegedly paid someone to beat her in an effort to abort a 7-month-old fetus.
The girl pleaded no contest to a criminal solicitation charge and went to detention. A judge later said the girl could not be held liable and the charge has been dismissed.
The bill presented by Rep. Wimmer would have allowed the state to prosecute the girl for attempted murder. Rep. Christine Johnson (D) said the bill is outrageous and the solution is not prosecution, but instead more on education outreach programs as well as access to free health care services.
"We are taking one circumstance where a young minor girl, 17 years of age coerced by her boyfriend and in a very desperate moment, not thinking clearly and with all those hormones on board made a desperate decision," said Rep. Johnson. "And we're creating a law to hold women accountable for criminal prosecution?"
Rep. Wimmer said he was upset when that there was no law that would allow the state to prosecute the pregnant girl.
"When she was released and we discovered that there was nothing that we could do, I was outraged," said Rep. Wimmer. " I was very mad that this girl was walking free after trying to murder her baby that was seven months along in pregnancy," said Rep. Wimmer.
If the bill passes the legislative sesion next year, then Utah will then be the first state in the nation to make an abortion illegal in some cases.
FOX 13's Nineveh Dinha reports.
This story was made by contributions from the Associated Press and FOX 13 News.
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The bill is in response to the case of a pregnant teen from Vernal who allegedly paid someone to beat her in an effort to abort a 7-month-old fetus.
The girl pleaded no contest to a criminal solicitation charge and went to detention. A judge later said the girl could not be held liable and the charge has been dismissed.
The bill presented by Rep. Wimmer would have allowed the state to prosecute the girl for attempted murder. Rep. Christine Johnson (D) said the bill is outrageous and the solution is not prosecution, but instead more on education outreach programs as well as access to free health care services.
"We are taking one circumstance where a young minor girl, 17 years of age coerced by her boyfriend and in a very desperate moment, not thinking clearly and with all those hormones on board made a desperate decision," said Rep. Johnson. "And we're creating a law to hold women accountable for criminal prosecution?"
Rep. Wimmer said he was upset when that there was no law that would allow the state to prosecute the pregnant girl.
"When she was released and we discovered that there was nothing that we could do, I was outraged," said Rep. Wimmer. " I was very mad that this girl was walking free after trying to murder her baby that was seven months along in pregnancy," said Rep. Wimmer.
If the bill passes the legislative sesion next year, then Utah will then be the first state in the nation to make an abortion illegal in some cases.
FOX 13's Nineveh Dinha reports.
This story was made by contributions from the Associated Press and FOX 13 News.
SEND US YOUR NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS PICTURES! www.fox13now.com/pics
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @fox13now
