SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for the state of Utah have asked a judge to dissolve an injunction and allow the state's near-total abortion ban to go into effect.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and the Utah Attorney General's Office have both filed motions for summary judgment, which asks a judge to abruptly end the case in their favor. For Planned Parenthood, it would be to permanently block Utah's ban on most abortions which can't take effect because a judge has imposed a preliminary injunction.
In a court filing asking for summary judgment in the state's favor and the injunction to be dissolved, the Utah Attorney General's Office argued that the legislature is best suited to decide these matters through those elected by the people.
"But the existence of persuasive policy arguments does not create constitutional rights. By way of analogy, many states are liberalizing their restrictions on a host of activities traditionally subject to regulation, such as recreational marijuana or assisted suicide, persuaded by policy arguments brought forth by proponents of legalization. The fact that there may be persuasive policy arguments in favor of legalized recreational marijuana or assisted suicide does not transform those activities into constitutional rights. It is the same with abortion," assistant Utah Attorney General Lance Sorensen wrote.
"Plaintiff is welcome, as our representative democracy contemplates, to seek to persuade its fellow citizens of Utah that permissive abortion regulations are in the best interests of the State. Plaintiff and its members are free to promote and vote for political candidates who share Plaintiff’s views on abortion policy."
The Utah State Legislature in 2020 passed a bill that banned most abortions (with exceptions for things like rape, incest or life of the mother) that would take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. When that happened in 2022, Planned Parenthood sued the state and a judge issued a preliminary injunction. The Utah Supreme Court refused the state's request for a mid-case appeal and the ban has been on hold ever since (abortion remains legal in Utah up to 18 weeks).
In its own court filing, Planned Parenthood's attorneys argue the ban infringes upon fundamental rights protected by the Utah Constitution "including the rights to bodily integrity, privacy, sex equality, and free exercise."
"The undisputed facts establish that the Ban—a near-total ban on abortion from the earliest stages of pregnancy, with only narrow exceptions—impermissibly infringes on numerous enumerated and unenumerated rights protected by the Utah Constitution," Planned Parenthood attorney Troy Booher wrote. "In making this argument, PPAU does not write on a blank slate. In affirming the preliminary injunction, the Utah Supreme Court provided a blueprint for evaluating these claims... Based on that blueprint, the record, relevant sources, and original public meaning compel the conclusion that the Ban violates the Utah Constitution’s guarantees of bodily integrity, sex equality, privacy, and freedom of conscience and triggers review..."
Judge Charles Stormont has scheduled arguments on the motion for summary judgment for April.
