SALT LAKE CITY – Gubernatorial candidate Brian King has joined fellow Democrats in applauding the recent Utah Supreme Court ruling sustaining an injunction on the state’s abortion ban.
“This ruling is a win for Utah families,” King said in a statement released over the weekend.
“As Utahns, we value agency and freedom, “ he added. “We believe that the government has no place dictating the most personal, private decisions in our lives.”
King’s reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling of Aug. 1 was measured and well-reasoned, unlike that of Democratic Party chair Diane Lewis.
“The State Supreme Court today affirmed what Utah have always known to be true,” Lewis said in reaction to the court ruling. “Abortion must remain legal in Utah.
“This decision is a victory for Utah families, because the last thing Utahns need to worry about when deciding how to grow their families is government interference.”
In point of fact, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling was more of a procedural decision than the kind of sweeping affirmation of abortion rights that Lewis would have everyone believe.
The justices found that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had legal standing to challenge the state’s near-total abortion ban. Given that decision, they ruled that the so-called abortion trigger law would remain on hold until a lower court can determine whether the law is constitutional.
In the meantime, a separate state law passed in 2023 bans abortions in cases of rape or incest after 18 weeks pregnancy.
“While we celebrate this win,” said Kathryn Boyd, the CEO of Utah’s Planned Parenthood, “we know this fight is not over.
“Today’s decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential services here right here in Utah.”
King’s rival for the governor’s office led many state officials in expressing disappointment with the Supreme Court ruling.
“We are hopeful that this decision will just be a temporary setback,” said Gov. Spencer Cox “and the laws will take effect following the resolution of the case. We are grateful for the state’s current restriction on abortion after 18 weeks.”
One of the authors for the abortion trigger law, Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (R-Clearfield), also expressed disappointment at the ruling.
“Utahns deeply value human life in all stages and circumstances,” she said. “It’s deeply unfortunate that Utah’s strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision (which overturned Roe v. Wade), resulting in the deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state.”
But Lewis dismisses Lisonbee’s comments as those of a (Make American Great Again) extremist just seeking to restrict the constitutional freedoms of Utahns.
Although speaking a good deal less stridently, King believes that the Supreme Court is likely signaling that the governor and the legislature over-reached their authority in drafting the trigger law and violated the constitutional rights of Utahns.
“This bill should never have been passed in the first place,” according to King, who was one of the Democrats in the Legislature who opposed the trigger law. “We shouldn’t have to rely on the courts to protect us from our own leaders.
“You deserve a governor who respects your family enough to stand up for that freedom instead of putting it on the chopping block in pursuit of partisan political interests.”