Utah House Approves 72-Hour Waiting Period Before Abortion Care; Senate Sends Sex Education Bill To Gov.

March 7, 2012 — The Utah House on Monday voted 59-11 to approve an amended version of a bill (HB 461) that would require women seeking abortion care to wait 72 hours before the procedure, the Deseret News reports. The current waiting period is 24 hours.

Opponents of the measure argued that the waiting period would put an undue burden on women, especially those who live far from Salt Lake City, where the state's only abortion clinic is located. The bill was amended to remove a provision that would have required the initial consultation to take place at an abortion clinic.

Rep. Steve Eliason (R), the bill's sponsor, claimed that the waiting period could lead to fewer abortions. He said it would not limit women's ability to obtain the procedure.

Rep. Carol Spackman Moss (D) was the only member of the House to speak against the bill, which she said intrudes into private medical decisions (Romboy, Deseret News, 3/5).

Senate Passes Abstinence-Only Sex Education Bill

On Tuesday, the state Senate voted 19-10 to approve a bill (HB 363) that would allow public schools to opt out of sexual education instruction but require those that include it to teach an abstinence until marriage curricula, the Daily Herald reports (Hesterman, Daily Herald, 3/7).

Under current state law, school districts may set their own standards for sex education programs within state limits. According to the Utah Office of Education website, the law allows instruction about contraception and preventing sexually transmitted infection but requires teachers to "present a strong abstinence message." In addition, parents must sign "opt in" permission slips for their children to participate.

The bill, which the House approved last month, states that curricula must stress abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage as the only reliable methods of preventing STIs (Women's Health Policy Report, 2/24). It would prohibit instruction related to sexual intercourse, LGBT relationships, sex outside of marriage or contraception.

The bill now proceeds to Gov. Gary Herbert (R) for consideration. A spokesperson for the governor's office declined to say whether Herbert plans to sign the measure (Wood, Deseret News, 3/6).