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Gov. Cox ‘feels pretty good’ about the bill to close Utah’s abortion clinics

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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at his weekly news conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 20, 2021.
Trent Nelson / The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wasn’t short on opinions for his monthly news conference.

His face time with reporters came on the heels of his big economic announcement — that Texas Instruments will make a historic investment in Utah — and quick work by House Republicans to introduce a bill to close down abortion clinics.

Cox said he “feels pretty good” about Republican Rep. Karianne Lisonbee’s bill, which would remove all abortion clinics in the state by January 2024 and make state hospitals the sole abortion providers, with a few exceptions. It also prohibits a rape or incest victim from receiving an abortion after the fetus has reached 18 weeks.

The governor agrees with the 18-week cut-off because it “gives plenty of time for a decision to be made” and also feels the time limit is broadly popular across the nation.

“This is part of the problem in the abortion discussion,” the governor opined. “We've gotten to a place where it seems like the choices are no abortions ever or no restrictions ever. If you look, the American people are much more nuanced on this.”

Read more at KUER.org

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