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SALT LAKE CITY — For the nearly five decades in which the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to abortion, politicians opposed to the procedure often argued that abortion access should be a decision left to the states.
That changed for some Republicans after the court's Roe v. Wade decision was overturned, with a handful pushing for nationwide policy to restrict abortion. Carolyn Phippen, a former Senate staffer who is running to be the first woman to represent Utah in the U.S. Senate, isn't among them.
Phippen launched her campaign last fall by emphasizing her role as a mother of five boys, and includes protecting and respecting "ALL life" as one of her priorities on her campaign website. Asked where she stands on the issue Monday, Phippen told the KSL and Deseret News editorial boards she still believes it's a states' issue, and thinks any federal effort to limit abortions would hurt conservative states like Utah that have restrictive abortion laws already on the books.
"I'm right there," Phippen said, indicating she agrees with former President Donald Trump — the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — who on Monday said abortion law is up to the states, without any reference to a national abortion ban.
Trump, who appointed three of the justices who were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade, has previously flirted with a national ban beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, but said in a video posted on social media that he supports exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother, and reiterated that he supports the availability of in vitro fertilization.
Phippen said she was "disappointed" in his earlier openness to a national ban. She said it's "not the right time, not the right manner" for a federal ban.
Noting that the vast majority of abortions take place before 15 weeks of pregnancy, Phippen said a national law could lead conservative states to take their foot off the gas when it comes anti-abortion legislation.
"If that were to happen, we would have states like Utah that have really good laws currently ... probably back off — many of the states would — and we would end up with something far worse," she said. "And I think eventually we'd end up with abortion until birth if we push it to the federal government, so I think that's just not a good place to be."
Utah passed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country — with narrow exemptions for the procedure in cases of rape, fatal fetal abnormalities or when the life of the mother is at risk — prior to Roe v. Wade being overturned. That "trigger law" briefly went into effect before it was paused by a judge while the courts consider the law's constitutionality.
The procedure remains legal in the Beehive State through 18 weeks of pregnancy.
