SALT LAKE CITY — In the aftermath of the Utah Supreme Court's ruling upholding an injunction blocking the state's near-total abortion ban from being enforced, advocates for and against abortion are looking at taking the issue to voters.
"I have not excluded anything from consideration thus far, including a constitutional amendment," Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, told reporters on Thursday at a news conference reacting to the Court's ruling.
The state's top court upheld a preliminary injunction, blocking the "trigger law" passed by Sen. McCay in 2020. The law prohibits abortions in Utah in nearly all circumstances (with exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother). It went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Immediately after that, Planned Parenthood sued the state and a lower court judge entered the injunction. The overall case continues to be litigated at the lower court level, but is expected to ultimately return to the Utah Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of the trigger law.
As a result of the Utah Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, abortion remains legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of pregnancy.
While confirming talk of a potential constitutional amendment that would either ban abortion or severely restrict it, Sen. McCay told reporters he was focused on a special session of the Utah State Legislature in response to the ruling. Sen. McCay is proposing to move Utah's current abortion restrictions from 18 weeks to six.
"It would be while we wait for the courts to figure it out," he said.
A constitutional amendment would not appear before voters until the legislature approves it, and the earliest that could be is the 2025 ballot.
Anti-abortion advocates are not the only ones contemplating having voters decide the issue. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah CEO Kathryn Boyd confirmed to FOX 13 News that abortion rights advocates are considering a citizen ballot initiative of their own.
"That is something that we’ve talked about," Boyd said at a news conference on Thursday. "We’re in the early stages of that discussions of what that would look like and the framework to do that."
Boyd noted that in other states, voters have approved abortion rights measures.
"I, myself, as a representative for Planned Parenthood definitely have an appetite for that," she said of a citizen ballot initiative in Utah. "So we’ll see what comes."
Another Utah Supreme Court ruling in favor of citizen ballot initiatives has energized proponents who are considering their own initiatives. FOX 13 News has been told initiatives are also being considered for an open primary system, liquor privatization and a carbon tax are being considered for 2026.
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