Utah’s near-total abortion ban to remain blocked until lower court assesses its constitutionality

Utah’s near-total abortion ban will remain blocked after the Utah state Supreme Court ruled lawmakers must await a lower court’s constitutional assessment. The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has legal standing to challenge the state’s abortion trigger law, according to the ruling panel’s decision. The ruling does not determine the final outcome of abortion policy in Utah. The lower court will ultimately make the decision on the case.

Lawmakers passed the ban in 2020 as a trigger ban, which would take effect once Roe v. Wade was overturned. As currently written, law prohibits all abortions except in cases of rape, incest or serious risk to the mother’s health, or if two maternal fetal medicine physicians found that the fetus had deadly defect or brain abnormality.