The Utah House of Representatives has passed bill that would make women wait 72 hours before having an abortion. It would be the longest waiting period in the nation.
House Bill 461would require women to receive information about abortions and fetal development. They would then have to wait three days before having the procedure.
Currently, Utah law requires women to wait 24 hours.
The bill sponsors say the point of the extended wait time is to give women more information, because an abortion can't be undone.
Planned Parenthood said it is an attempt to reduce the number of abortions by shaming women or second guessing their decisions. Karrie Galloway, director of Planned Parenthood said in her experience, women are very thoughtful before deciding to terminate a pregnancy.
"Frustration is the biggest emotion I have," said Karrie Galloway, director of Planned Parenthood. "Planned Parenthood believes that women need to have complete, non-judgmental information to make a decision. For the state of Utah to tell them how much time they need to take, goes beyond the pale."
The bill passes the House by a vote of 59 to 11. The 11 votes came from Democrats.
In order to become law, the bill will have to pass the Senate by the end of the legislative session on Thursday.
