Abortion bill approved by Utah legislative committee

A bill that would make seeking an illegal abortion a second-degree felony as well as remove any immunity for Utah women seeking illegal abortions was approved by a legislative committee Wednesday morning.

The legislation is being proposed in the wake of a teenage girl in Vernal who allegedly paid someone to beat her in order to end a pregnancy — an incident that sponsor Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said revealed a flaw in state statute that his bill closes.

"We owe it to society to make this correction," Wimmer said in summing up his bill to members of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee. "We have a circumstance that wasn't in statute, and we ought to take advantage of the opportunity to fix it."

Two members of the committee voted against the measure, saying the bill unfairly focuses only on women. Wimmer said that as the bill moves forward to the full Legislature, he is willing to address their concerns and others raised Wednesday by committee members.

A judge released the Vernal teen, ruling she could not be jailed for trying to get an abortion and offering $150 to a man to beat her in hopes that she would miscarry her baby, stating that a woman "who is seeking to have or obtains an abortion for herself is not criminally liable." Harrison remains in custody. The baby was born prematurely but alive.

"There are a few instances that occur where the law or the interpretation of that law fails society," Wimmer said. "This is one of those times, whether it be the actual law or the interpretation, society as a whole and justice was left wanting."

Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake, who voted against the measure, tried to delay action on the proposal, saying the bill was a rushed response "to try and create statute based on one really unfortunate, desperate coerced decision made by a 17-year-old girl. Let's wait, let's think about this."

Other committee members said the proposal ought to require some accountability of the father if he knowingly participates in a similar crime. The assertion seemed to irritate Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem:

"The question that always comes to my mind in this is, 'What consideration is the father given in Roe v. Wade? What consideration is the father given when a woman decides to terminate a pregnancy legally?' I don't see how you can have it both ways."

e-mail: jthalman@desnews.com