A rule allowing Utah hospitals and doctors to terminate doomed pregnancies quietly went into effect Wednesday. Utah Department of Health Director Scott Williams approved an amended rule that allows health care providers to "certify" that no public funds are used in such "terminations." Afraid of losing Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program reimbursements, University of Utah and Intermountain Health Care hospitals stopped early delivery of fatally deformed fetuses in May after legislation took effect banning public funding of abortions. Williams issued an emergency rule in June to allow the health care providers to perform the rare procedures. And the Health Department drafted a rule that defines public and nonpublic funds and establishes a way for hospitals to account for the funding of each procedure and avoid legal penalties. Attorneys refined the language after a heated public hearing in July. The rule was not changed after a hearing last week. The emergency rule was set to expire today. Assistant Attorney General Doug Springmeyer said the change should be unnoticeable to Utah health care providers. -Rebecca Walsh