SALT LAKE CITY-Late Saturday evening, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a sweeping abortion ban into law in the Beehive State.
This would prohibit most elective abortions in the Beehive State but will only go into effect should Roe v. Wade be overturned.
This is known as Senate Bill 174 and is sponsored by Riverton Republican, Senator Dan McCay.
It carves out exemptions for abortion, such as if the mother of the child is raped, if incest occurred, or if the health of the mother is at serious risk.
This bill would not likely face an immediate legal challenge because of its “trigger point” with a national decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Saturday, Herbert also signed Senate Bill 67. This bill, sponsored by Provo Republican Curt Bramble, requires that remains of a fetus that is aborted or miscarried be buried or cremated.
Then, a woman would have the prerogative to determine what to do with the remains.
Another significant bill passed into law entails Senate Bill 102. This bill has essentially decriminalized polygamy in Utah.
In essence, this reduces the crime of bigamy among consenting adults to an infraction. It is about the same level for crime as receiving a traffic ticket.
Nevertheless, if bigamy is also joined with crimes such as abuse, fraud or child-bride marriages, it becomes a felony.
Pro-polygamy groups estimate as many as 30,000-40,000 people in the state subscribe to “Mormon fundamentalism.” This movement began in 1890, when Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints president Wilford Woodruff authored the 1890 Manifesto. This dissociated the Salt Lake City-based faith from the practice of polygamy.
Republican Senator Deidre Henderson of Spanish Fork contended that in order for people to feel free in reporting abuses within closed polygamy societies, the penalty for bigamy should be reduced among consenting adults.
The bill has since been debated among current and former members of the various polygamous factions throughout Utah who had questioned if this change in approach would be successful.
Polygamists have lobbied for this bill, believing that its passing would lead to positive changes.
Meanwhile, anti-polygamy activists believe the bill will not change and are concerned it will embolden leaders to perpetuate abuses.
This bill does not legalize polygamy and in so doing, it does not violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on the practice.
These were among the 151 bills Herbert signed into law Saturday.
