Planned Parenthood Sues to Stop New Utah Law Banning Abortions on Babies After 18 Weeks

State   |   Christina Vazquez   |   Apr 10, 2019   |   4:49PM   |   Salt Lake City, UT

The country’s largest abortion group has made yet another move to try to prevent pro-life legislation from taking effect.

On Wednesday, the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah sued the state over a recently-passed law that bans abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy, KSL News reported.

In the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood calls for a federal judge to rule the new law unconstitutional. The abortion group argues that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals had invalidated a Utah law that banned abortion at 22 weeks.

“Accordingly, the 18-week ban is in flagrant violation of more than four decades of settled Supreme Court precedent, starting with Roe v. Wade, which held that a woman has a protected right to end a pregnancy,” the lawsuit says.

The law, HB 136, was sponsored by Republican Rep. Cheryl Acton, and sets the limit for legal abortions at 18 weeks. Prior to the law, the limit was set at 22 weeks. The United States is one of seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks.

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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill into law on March 26, despite threats from Planned Parenthood to take legal action.

“Governor Herbert is unapologetically pro-life and believes state lawmakers have chosen an appropriate threshold for protecting the unborn while respecting a woman’s right to choose,” Paul Edwards, Herbert’s spokesman, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Utah has taken a number of steps to preserve and protect life. In March, Herbert also signed into law a bill that bans abortions on babies with Down syndrome.

With this law banning abortion after 18 weeks, Utah joins a handful of other states that have sought to limit abortion by banning them after a certain stage of pregnancy. The Arkansas House of Representatives recently passed a similar bill banning abortions after 18 weeks.

LifeNews Note: Image depicts an unborn baby at 18 weeks development.