SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) Every woman in the Utah Senate walked out as their male colleagues passed a bill that would require an ultrasound for a woman seeking an abortion.
House Bill 364, Abortion Revisions, sponsored by Rep. Steven Christiansen (R-West Jordan) would require a provider to display ultrasound images and make the fetal heartbeat audible if possible.
Rep. Christiansen has said the point of the bill is to give a woman as much information as possible to make an informed decision.
The bill passed the Senate Tuesday by a vote of 16 to 7 with 6 absent or not voting. Six female senators on both sides of the isle protested the bill by refusing to vote.
“All the women, both Democrats, and Republicans, walked off the floor today during the vote. Only men voted to force women to have an ultrasound against their will,” said Alliance for a Better Utah in a statement Tuesday evening. “We’ve heard a lot of grandstanding on the Hill this year about how proud lawmakers are about the fact that Utah was the first state where a woman voted. But when the time comes for these men to stand up for women in a way that matters, a majority of Utah Senators failed the test.”
Here’s a breakdown of how all the senators voted:
YEAS: Senator J. Stuart Adams, Senator Jacob Anderegg, Senator Curt Bramble, Senator David Buxton, Senator Allen Christensen, Senator Kirk Cullimore, Senator Lincoln Fillmore, Senator Keith Grover, Senator David Hinkins, Senator Don Ipson, Senator Daniel McCay, Senator Ralph Okerlund, Senator Scott Sandall, Senator Jerry Stevenson, Senator Evan Vickers, Senator Ronald Winterton
NAYS: Senator Gene Davis, Senator Wayne Harper, Senator Daniel Hemmert, Senator Lyle Hillyard, Senator Derek Kitchen, Senator Todd Weiler, Senator Daniel Thatcher
ABSENT: Senator Luz Escamilla, Senator Deidre M. Henderson, Senator Jani Iwamoto, Senator Karen Mayne, Senator Ann Millner, Senator Kathleen Riebe
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