A measure targeting Roe v. Wade falters

An aggressive abortion bill that gained early attention died just hours before the end of the legislative session.

The Senate passed a version of HB235 similar to that originally put forth by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, before it was changed to an outright ban on abortion in most cases. But the clock struck midnight before the House could vote on the amendments made in the Senate.

In its original form, HB235 was a "trigger bill" that would have banned abortions in Utah in the event of an overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that recognized a woman's right to have an abortion.

The substitute bill, from Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, was meant to force a direct challenge to Roe. Several other states are working on similar court challenges, and passage of the substituted HB235 would have put Utah on the offense in attempts to overturn Roe.

The House, however, reverted to the original bill, citing concerns about the amount of money it would cost to defend the admittedly unconstitutional law all the way to the Supreme Court — up to $3 million.

The Senate passed the trigger bill late Wednesday, on a 20-7 vote, but not without criticism that the state was acting too soon and without a clear understanding of the law's effect.

"I've never been very good at guessing what a court's going to do," said Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, an attorney. "To do something now, we may bring into law, by the (court) decision, laws that we do not want." Another attorney, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, agreed.

"There will be plenty of time if Roe v. Wade actually is overruled for us to come in and change the law," he said. "We don't need to do this now and it really is, quite frankly, a terrible legal precedent." As written, HB235 would take effect if the Supreme Court directly overturns Roe or if the U.S. Constitution is amended to outlaw abortion.

The brief Senate debate centered mostly on technical legal issues surrounding abortion, rather than the issue itself. One senator, however, did address the underlying issue.

"I think this law is a direct result in Utah of a woman's right to choose, and I think that decision has already been made," Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, said.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com