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Richard Piatt ReportingThe Utah Senate has already passed two abortion bills in the Legislature's first week in session.
One of these bills is a ban on partial birth abortions. The other prohibits the state from paying for abortions through Medicaid.
The bills met with only a few opponents on the floor of the Utah Senate this morning. Senate bills 68 and 69 both passed within an hour and a half, and both by wide margins. They are not anticipated to have much trouble in the House either, in spite of questions about the constitutionality of the partial birth abortion bill.
Rep. Paula Julander/(D) Salt Lake City: “It’s simple. We need to provide for safe access to health care for women.”
Sen. Karen Hale/(D) Salt Lake City: "Also with these bills, we're going to face some constitutional concerns. And when we're strapped financially as a state, when things are moving forward in congress, there's no need for Utah to be spending its time and money on that right now."
The ACLU has said it will challenge Utah's law, and the Legislature seems to be willing to take on that legal challenge.
