The overturning of Roe vs. Wade caused a lot of celebration in several Republican legislators as the Utah trigger-law ban went into effect.
This trigger law was sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay and Rep. Karianne Lisonbee in 2020. They and other legislators proclaimed that they are “pro life.” This ban is, in fact, “pro birth” or, more accurately, “pro forced birth,” as it only addresses the situation of banning abortions with a very few exceptions. “Living” is usually thought to begin at birth.
Why do women seek abortion? There are various reasons: rape, incest, the health of the mother is at risk, a significant problem with the fetus, poverty, a failure in family planning, lack of affordable access to family planning or domestic abuse are just some of the reasons.
We promote Utah as a family-oriented state. In observing the Legislature over the past several years, I would disagree that we support families. Do we provide a living wage for all of our workers? Do we provide health care to all women and children? Do we promote prevention of pregnancy through family planning and sex education? Do we support excellence in public education for all students?
With the abortion ban law, in order to promote the life and health of the pregnant mother and fetus, the state should cover a living stipend for the woman who must now incubate a baby. Health care expenses should also be covered in order to promote a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Once the baby is born, the state should cover the health care and educational expenses of that child until age 18 years.
Yet what does the Utah Legislature do? Instead of promoting a health pregnancy and child, the Legislature continues to not pass bills that would help the mother and child.
For several years, state Sen. Derek Kitchen (and Rep. Steve Eliason in 2020) proposed a bill to have the state apply for a waiver to Medicaid to extend family planning services to low-income individuals. This bill has never passed. In the 2022 legislative session, Rep. Rosemary Lesser proposed a bill to apply for a waiver to extend Medicaid coverage during pregnancy and up to 1-year post-partum for low-income women. This did not pass.
In an effort to prevent sexual intercourse in young adults, Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, along with and Sen. Kathleen Riebe and Sen. Kirk Cullimore, has, for several years, proposed bills to expand education of sexual assault recognition and prevention for high school students. This modification of the original expansion of sex education in high school from previous years was an attempt to help students avoid sexual intercourse and assaults. These bills have not passed.
Additionally, Rep. Angela Romero has sponsored bills for several years to define “consent” for sexual activity. And again; not passed. She also sponsored a bill in 2021 to ban the sale of home DIY sexual assault kits that were sold over the internet so a victim could “swab” herself to collect evidence of an assault, yet none of this evidence would be permissible in court.
This bill passed the House, but was “killed” in a Senate committee, as Republican members didn’t want to impede commerce.
The Republican majority of the Utah Legislature does not support pregnant women or children by passing laws that would prevent pregnancy, nor promote healthcare and education of all women and children. Nor are they are interested in preventing pregnancy in young adults by better education.
Diane Forster-Burke
Diane Forster-Burke, R.N., is a retired nursing teacher with experience in community health nursing and advocacy.
