The Utah Senate voted down a proposed amendment on abortion (proposed by Sen. Scott McCoy) that would have helped protect at risk minors. The senate gave preliminary approval to the original bill, required that physicians seek parental consent before performing abortions on minors. (The bill is on hold pending a funding measure.)
The current law in Utah, in place since 1974, requires parental notification prior to abortions being performed on minors. The proposed amendment would have waived that noficiation process to minors deemed at risk in the home by abuse.
Sen. Patrice Arent, D-South Cottonwood, proposed a similar amendment when HB85 was before the Senate Judiciary and Criminal Justice Committee. Monday, Arent said the change takes into account real-world situations.
“I think it makes sense for those narrow situations where you don’t want to have that girl harmed further,” she said.
Utah has an “abstinence only” curricula as part of the health classes that have sex ed as a unit in them. Only the issue of abstinence can be taught. Not even other birth control measures may be mentioned. This does not stop minors from having sex. This bill on abortion will not stop minors from seeking abortions. Just a few weeks ago Salt Lake City Weekly ran a feature on minors crossing borders to get abortions because of the laws in Utah. This bill, if passed, will only continue to exascerbate that issue and force minors in abusive situations to seek help out of state.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 