Planned Parenthood, ACLU Seek to Prevent Enforcement of Utah Abortion Trigger Law

Just as no time was wasted in many Republican-controlled states that immediately outlawed abortion with “trigger laws,” Planned Parenthood hasn’t waited to fight back either. Along with the ACLU, the organization filed a complaint in Utah Saturday in hopes of preventing the enforcement of its law that criminalizes abortion in almost every circumstance. The complaint argues that the law, which went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned, is “flagrantly unconstitutional.” Performing an abortion in Utah is now considered a second-degree felony in most cases, the complaint says, with a prison sentence of between one to 15 years per abortion. Planned Parenthood and the limited amount of other providers stopped performing abortions beyond the state’s exemptions. But if given the relief it’s filing for, it would continue, the complaint says.