For as long as we’ve had politics we’ve had political grandstanding.
Our latest example comes from state Rep. Cheryl Acton. The West Jordan Republican really, really doesn’t like abortion — and she’s prepared to spend a lot of your money in a thoroughly futile crusade against the practice.
This week, Acton rolled out a bill that would ban abortion in Utah after 15 weeks of gestation. If the Legislature passes the bill, Utah would join the ranks of Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, which all have similar laws.
And about 30 seconds later, Utah would join every one of those states where a judge has prevented the law from being enacted.
In Texas, a federal judge struck down the law saying it was “facially unconstitutional.” In Mississippi, the judge said the law was “unequivocally” unconstitutional and said that Mississippi’s claim that it was passing the bill to advance women’s health was “pure gaslighting.”
Acton, of course, knows this and it seems like she just can’t wait to get the state sued. And what for?
Well, Texas has already appealed the judge’s rejection of its 15-week law and the case was argued last November. They’re almost certain to lose, but that’s just a stepping stone that helps them get to their ultimate goal: the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pro-life conservatives are feeling emboldened by Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s recent confirmation to the court and think this might be their chance to finally take down Roe v. Wade.
Acton suggested her intent is to show that Utah has those other states’ backs if the case gets to the Supreme Court. Then what? Do we think the justices debating the merits of the case and will somehow be swayed? Because of Utah?
“Well, it’s pretty obviously unconstitutional,” Justice Sonya Sotomayor could say. “And judges in Texas and five other states have already ruled it is based on more than 45 years of precedent.”
“Six states,” Justice Neal Gorsuch might chime in. “Utah passed it, too.”
“Oh, I know where Utah is,” Sotomayor would say. “This changes everything.”
That’s not how it works.
And if the state wants to show its support for the Texas law, then get the attorney general to file a brief supporting the argument. It is a simpler solution and saves taxpayers a few hundred thousand dollars.
There are practical problems with Acton’s proposal, as well as constitutional. For example, a pregnant mother usually gets an ultrasound around 20 weeks that can detect major complications, something like a severe birth defect that would make it highly unlikely the child would survive. But by then, ending the pregnancy would be off the table.
And Acton’s bill probably won’t be the only one of its kind.
Last year, Rep. Karianne Lisonbee sponsored a bill that would make it a crime for a mother to abort a fetus because it might have Down syndrome. The bill flew through the House last year before dying in the Senate. Other states have made similar attempts, only to have them blocked by the courts.
But there’s a good chance Lisonbee’s bill will be back.
By the way, last year, Lisonbee’s bill carried a warning from legislative attorneys that there was a high probability it was unconstitutional. Acton’s bill would have had a similar warning this year, except last year the Legislature did away with the constitutional review notes. They didn’t want to hear it and, frankly, it typically didn’t stop them from passing unconstitutional bills anyway.
This moral chest-thumping doesn’t come cheap, unfortunately. Not long ago, the state lost a case brought by Brewvies after the theater was slapped with a citation for violating the state’s decency laws. Taxpayers had to pay Brewvies’ lawyers $450,000 for that one.
Maybe here is the solution going forward: Let the legislators grandstand all they want. We can’t really stop them.
But require them to post a bond or get an insurance policy. That way, when their half-baked message bills get struck down by the courts, they can pay the legal fees. Maybe they’ll be a little less reckless with their own money.
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