Utah Governor Signs Roe v. Wade Trigger Law, Expands Newborn Safe Haven

Here’s some great news: Governor Gary Herbert (R-Utah) recently signed legislation to make abortion illegal in the state when Roe v. Wade is reversed as well as legislation expanding access to safe haven places for newborn babies.

A local news station reporting on the laws wrote, “If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, elective abortions would become illegal in Utah under the new law. Abortions would be allowed in cases of rape, incest, if the mother’s life is at risk or if the fetus has a lethal defect. ”

Titus Folks, the National Campaigns Advisor for Students for Life Action praised the decision, saying, “Governor Herbert must be thanked for using his office to advocate for the preborn and the most vulnerable. Abortion is always violence against women and preborn children, and we are thankful for Governor Herbert’s leadership on this issue.”

The new safe haven law expands “the amount of time that someone is allowed to anonymously drop off a newborn child at a hospital from three days to 30 days.”

Governor Herbert has regularly been a supporter of the pro-life movement.

In 2019, he signed a law banning abortions in the state after 18 weeks. The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “GOP lawmakers argued that the proposed 18-week ban reflects Utah values and medical advancements that have changed [the] understanding of the procedure since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision….Proponents of the 18-week ban listed a variety of drawbacks to allowing abortion later in a pregnancy, such as risk of physical and emotional damage to women and the possibility that the fetus would feel pain.”