Utah judge delays implementing statewide abortion clinic ban

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A state court on Tuesday blocked Utah’s first-in-the-nation ban on abortion clinics from taking effect Wednesday in a ruling in which the judge called the Republican-controlled Legislature’s objective in enacting the ban “nebulous.”

The decision allows the state’s four clinics to continue providing abortions while Judge Andrew Stone takes more time to weigh the merits of a lawsuit filed by the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, which argued the law would “functionally eliminate” abortion access by limiting the procedure to hospitals.

It's the latest development to shape abortion access in Utah in the year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It follows an earlier legal challenge to a Utah law banning most non-emergency abortions. That law remains unimplemented, tied up in court.

Utah's abortion clinic ban seeks to stop new facilities from getting licenses and was set to take effect on Wednesday. It would also faze out existing licenses by next year. Stone's decision prevents Utah from joining states such as West Virginia, North Dakota and Mississippi, all of which have pushed out abortion clinics.

Planned Parenthood argued that the Utah law effectively banned abortion because 95% of the procedures are provided in clinics and hospitals aren't as well-equipped to offer low-cost outpatient care, including the abortion pill. Planned Parenthood said state lawmakers and Gov. Spencer Cox enacted the law to bypass the court system while it weighs challenges to other abortion restrictions.

Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood's Utah affiliate, said the ruling “means that clinics can continue providing essential health care to our patients, who for months have lived in a state of chaos and confusion over the impact of...