The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a block on the state’s near-total abortion ban, leaving in place a law that allows abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy. The ruling dealt a blow to Republican legislators who passed the ban two years before Roe v. Wade was overturned and continued to press for restrictions.
Utah
Utah abortion ban remains on hold after ruling by state’s high court
That 2020 “trigger law” would prohibit all abortions except in cases of rape, incest or serious risk to the mother’s health, or if two maternal fetal medicine physicians determine that the fetus has a lethal defect or severe brain abnormality. A state district judge blocked the measure shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion in 2022, and Thursday’s 4-1 ruling maintains that suspension while the ban’s constitutionality is litigated in the lower court.
The decision by Utah’s majority-female Supreme Court means abortion remains broadly legal throughout the American West, with the exception of Idaho, where it is prohibited in nearly all cases. A ban is on hold in Wyoming, while voters in at least half a dozen states — including Colorado and Nevada plus possibly Montana and Arizona — will vote in November on ballot measures that would strengthen abortion rights.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and ACLU of Utah, which challenged the ban in 2022, hailed the ruling while cautioning that their battle has not ended. They argue that the law violates state constitutional rights to privacy, to bodily integrity and to determine one’s family composition.
“Today’s decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah,” Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a statement. But, she added, the group “looks forward to this unconstitutional law being permanently struck down.”
For the legislature’s Republican supermajority, the ruling comes as another court setback. The state says its constitution, ratified in 1895, includes no right to abortion.
The court decision Thursday noted that the justices, all Republican appointees, were addressing only whether the lower court abused its discretion in concluding that Planned Parenthood met the then-standard for an injunction.
“The district court did not,” the majority said, also noting in its ruling that Planned Parenthood “raises serious issues” about the ban’s constitutionality.
Abortion opponents expressed disappointment and even “great sorrow” over the outcome. Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said in a statement that they were “hopeful that this decision will be a temporary setback.” Others went further.
“The decision made today is a grim reminder that our society has strayed far from the moral compass that once guided us,” Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, said in a joint statement with the leaders of Utah Eagle Forum and Abortion-Free Utah Coalition.
Abortion is now mostly or completely prohibited in 18 states, a patchwork that includes much of the South and Midwest. In Idaho, Utah’s neighbor, a sweeping ban allows only some emergency abortions at hospitals after a Supreme Court decision in June. Arizona prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood operates three of Utah’s four abortion clinics, which do the vast majority of procedures in the state. In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, 3,129 abortions were recorded.
Utah’s legislature took aim at those facilities last year, requiring abortions to be performed in hospitals and prohibiting the licensing of such clinics. Planned Parenthood also sued over that measure, which it described as a backdoor attempt by the lawmakers to criminalize abortion even as the judiciary weighed their initial law.
The same district court suspended the clinic law just before it was to take effect. The legislature this year repealed the law in a bid to simplify — and expedite — the high court ruling issued Thursday.
Utah
Springlike heat surges across Utah; only isolated showers
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A little mid-level moisture will drift across Utah this weekend, but most areas will stay dry.
A few very isolated mountain showers are possible, mainly in the afternoons, but nothing widespread.
The big story is the heat. High pressure will build in, pushing temperatures 15–20 degrees above normal.
It will feel more like late spring, with many areas nearing or breaking March records, especially across central and southern Utah.
Overall, expect a warm, mostly dry weekend, with just a small chance for a quick mountain shower. Rain chances increase significantly later next week.
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Utah
Case dismissed for Wyoming man charged with allegedly kidnapping missing Utah girl – East Idaho News
POCATELLO — After a search for a missing Utah girl resulted in the arrest of a Wyoming man last November, a motion was accepted to dismiss the man’s case.
Anthony Holm of Star Valley, Wyoming, was originally charged on Nov. 17 with one felony count of second-degree kidnapping, but these charges were dismissed on March 17 during his preliminary hearing.
According to court documents, Bannock County Prosecutor Alan Boehme filed a motion to dismiss the case against Holm, as Utah will bring charges against him.
The motion was granted by Magistrate Judge Carol Tippi Jarman.
EastIdahoNews.com checked Utah court records, and no charges have been filed at the time of publication.
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The original incident occurred on Nov. 14, when Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies were contacted by the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office in Utah, which requested assistance in locating a missing juvenile.
The juvenile was believed to be with Holm, who was driving a 2024 Ford Bronco, and was suspected to be in the Lava Hot Springs area.
Court documents state that the vehicle was spotted at a hotel in Lava Hot Springs; however, the license plate did not match the reported one. Bannock County Dispatch reported that the vehicle belonged to Holm, and later confirmed that he was staying at the hotel.
Deputies spoke with Holm and the 16-year-old girl outside of a hotel room.
When asked by deputies how he knew the girl, he said they met on the app Ashley Madison the day before, and that the girl told him she was 18.
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Deputies spoke with the 16-year-old, who confirmed that she had told Holm she was 18, but did not want the man to go to jail. She later told deputies the plan was for them to stay in Lava Hot Springs to swim and spend the night there.
Documents state that in Willard, Utah, Holm had picked up the juvenile and traveled to Salt Lake City, where the two stayed at a hotel, before traveling to Idaho.
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Utah
Utah Falls in Emotional, Physical Game Against Capitals | Utah Mammoth
Utah’s power play went 2-for-4, and it was the first time the Mammoth have scored two power play goals in a game since the last time they played the Capitals (Mar. 3, at Washington). Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley each capitalized on the man-advantage in the first period. Cooley was added to the top unit with Barrett Hayton out of the lineup (week-to-week, upper-body injury), and he shared what was working for the top unit.
“Just trying to establish a shot,” Cooley explained. “Trying to build off that and then things start to open up. We have a lot of great players on that unit that can make a lot of plays, and I think when we establish a shot first (mentality) that’s when we’re going to get our opportunities, and find seams and different rebounds like that.”
“They were rolling,” Tourigny said of the power play. “The way they were attacking, the way they were direct, they were really aggressive. They were intentional, their aggressiveness, that paid off.”
In addition to his power play goal, Guenther also scored three minutes and 55 seconds later. The forward has six multi-goal efforts this season and he set a new career-high in points (61). This is his second consecutive season with 60 or more points. Guenther has been a consistent scorer for the Mammoth as he has nine goals in the month of March and has scored eight of those in the last 11 games. He trails on Boston’s Pavel Zacha (9) for the league lead in that span.
MacKenzie Weegar scored his first goal as a member of the Mammoth in the third period. He’s contributed a point in two-straight games and has grown his role with Utah. In addition to playing alongside alternate captain Mikhail Sergachev on the top d-pairing, Weegar contributes to both sides of special teams.
It’s a close playoff race in the Western Conference and Utah is still in the first wildcard spot. However, the Mammoth will need to raise their game, keep a high level of intensity, and manage their emotions in the final nine games of the regular season. Utah’s next game is a tough test against the Los Angeles Kings on the road.
“Everyone’s gotta look in the mirror, we all got better and we all know that,” Keller said. “Still super confident with our group. This is the most exciting part of the year and the most exciting hockey. We’re all positive, and we’ll learn from it and go to L.A..”
“Yeah, I think we started out good,” Cooley reflected. “Special teams were good. I thought the first period, we were moving it well. I think we kind of just started to let it slip, give up some odd-man rushes, and they capitalized. Every game is so important right now, and it stings. It’s two points that we probably should have had, especially early on with the way we were playing. We got to make sure that we are ready for a heck of a battle with L.A.”
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)
- Sergachev registered three assists in the first period marking the first three-assist frame of his NHL career. This also marked his second career three-point period, both of which have come against Washington, as well as his fourth three-point game this season.
- Alexander Kerfoot posted an assist on Weegar’s third-period goal, marking his 300th career NHL point. He is the 16th player from his draft class to reach that milestone. He joins Sergachev as the second skater to accomplish the feat with Utah.
- Keller posted three primary assists tonight for his eighth three-point game, third three-assist game, 23rd multi-point game, and 13th multi-assist game in 2025-26, all of which are team highs. The Captain has seven points over his last six games (3G, 4A).
- Utah’s captain has tallied at least 70 points for the fourth consecutive season and he became the 12th NHL player to accomplish this feat over that stretch. According to NHL PR, Keller is the fifth player in NHL history to eclipse the 70-point mark in each of a franchise’s first two seasons.
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