Park City hints at playing defense if Roe v. Wade is overturned

A pro-abortion rights protest at the Utah State Capitol in July 2022. Photo: Salt Lake City Office of the Mayor

PARK CITY, Utah — A leaked Supreme Court draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito leaked by Politico suggests that there may be the votes to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Alito writes, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”

The Supreme Court confirmed the leak on Tuesday, and in a statement, Chief Justice John Roberts called it a “betrayal.”

In 2020, Utah Gov. Gary Hebert signed S.B. 174, which would ban “all elective abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of a mother,” under the condition that Roe v. Wade was ever overturned.

In 2019, Herbert signed H.B. 136, a law that is currently on hold, would ban abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (the case that involves Roe v. Wade), could lead to H.B. 136 becoming law.

At their meeting on Thursday, the Park City Council briefly discussed the role the city could play as a “last line of defense” if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Councilor Becca Gerber said she wants the city to “authorize our lobbyist to go and speak on behalf of our residents and say that we’re not okay with this in our community. I think we all understand the state we live in, and that it’s a huge uphill battle, but at the same point in time, I think it would be a huge miss for us not to say something,” she said.

Park City Manager Matt Dias said that could be directed by council. Councilor Tana Toly expressed interest in getting it on their agenda soon.

Referencing his work with Local Progress, a coalition of elected officials across the country, councilor Max Doilney said that municipalities are the “last line of defense.”

“Localities should prepare to be the last line of defense for reproductive rights. Localities can and must continue to advance freedom including access to birth control, gender-affirming care, et cetera,” Doilney said.

“A couple of little things that we can do just off the cuff is just make sure we’re finding organizations that protect people who are seeking care.”

An official ruling by the Supreme Court is expected by the end of summer.

Supporters of anti-abortion laws want to reduce the number of women who seek the procedure and discourage them from going to other states. At least 276,000 women terminated their pregnancies outside their home state between 2012 and 2017, according to a 2019 Associated Press analysis of data collected from state reports and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is particularly true in pockets of the Midwest, South and Mountain West, where the number of women terminating a pregnancy in another state has increased because of a lack of nearby clinics or a desire to travel to a state with less restrictive abortion laws.

Both Utah Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee announced their support of the draft opinion this week. “If the leaked draft opinion reflects the final outcome, it is a decision I support,” Romney said in a statement.

Americans have nuanced attitudes on the topic. In an AP-NORC poll conducted last June, 61% said abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester and 80% said that about the third trimester. Many Americans said the procedure should be allowable under at least some circumstances even during the second or third trimesters.

“In Utah, you must obtain face-to-face informed consent and wait 72 hours before having an abortion,” according to Planned Parenthood.