The Utah Senate on Thursday approved a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the first such measure in the U.S. Senate since the U,S.
Supreme Court legalized abortion after 21 weeks.
The bill passed the state Senate 27-0.
It’s a milestone for Democrats who have been fighting to get the bill to the desk of Gov.
Gary Herbert.
It was introduced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a member of Herbert’s administration.
Herbert has said he supports a 20-week ban.
The Utah measure passed the House earlier this month by a vote of 38-7.
The state Senate voted in favor of it on Thursday.
In the Utah Legislature, lawmakers have often pushed for exceptions to the 20-day rule for certain medical conditions.
Thune has said that the bill doesn’t do that.
The 20- week ban, which is similar to a law passed in South Dakota earlier this year, was blocked in the Supreme Court last year.
A panel of judges struck down the South Dakota ban because it didn’t take into account the “vast majority of cases” in which an abortion would be a viable option.
That decision is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Ct this fall.
In a separate case, the Supreme, in a 5-4 ruling, ruled that a Texas law restricting abortion access was unconstitutional.
The U.K. is the only other country in the world to ban abortions after 20 months.
In 2013, the European Court of Human Rights struck down Britain’s ban on late-term abortions, and the U!
S.
and Canada have both struck down bans on abortion after 22 weeks of gestation.
The new Utah bill, if enacted, would ban abortions at 20 weeks.
It would allow for exceptions for fetal abnormalities, life-threatening fetal abnormalities or if the fetus is at high risk of suffering from certain genetic diseases, including Down syndrome.
The House version of the bill, which passed by a majority vote of 27-6, also prohibits abortions after 21 or 22 weeks.