PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 10, 2020
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, SB 67 2nd Sub, Disposition of Fetal Remains, passed the Utah Senate. The bill, sponsored by Senator Bramble and Representative Lisonbee, would require a woman who has an abortion or a miscarriage in a medical facility to decide what to do with the fetal tissue and would require medical providers to either bury or cremate that tissue.
Lauren Simpson, policy director for Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:
“We fully support women who have had a miscarriage or abortion to make whatever choice is right for them in the aftermath of that experience. But ultimately, this bill is not about supporting patients. It removes choices currently available to women and instead imposes an ideological mandate on a deeply personal experience.
“The true purpose of this bill is to chip away at women’s reproductive rights. The sponsors and groups behind it have spoken openly about their desire to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and if this bill becomes law, it will be used in future legal proceedings to show that Utah already behaves as though life begins at conception. This is the end game of the sponsors and groups behind this bill, and they are using women’s incredibly personal experiences to further their own political agenda.
“We want all women to be empowered to make whatever choice is best for them following a pregnancy loss and do whatever will help them best process that experience. But we reject this effort to co-opt those sensitive experiences to further some politicians’ political agenda.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a nonprofit that holds politicians accountable and advocates for progressive policies that make Utah an even better place. The organization improves the lives of all Utahns through advocacy, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.