SALT LAKE CITY — A bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature makes emergency contraception available to sexual assault victims, but critics say its provisions don't do enough to help.
Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, introduced House Bill 227 which provides emergency access to contraception for rape victims. But it also requires them to go to police or for a sexual assault hotline to present someone with options including going to police.
In an interview with FOX 13 News on Thursday, Rep. Birkeland insisted her bill was about helping survivors and holding perpetrators accountable.
"We have so many women who are being sexually assaulted, but we have very, very few who are prosecuted for sexual assaults," she said. "And that has a requirement for law enforcement, every agency to create a policy on how they’re going to handle these cases. If a woman’s going to go call law enforcement that’s the choice she makes, she knows what’s going to happen next so she can feel comforted."
The bill is still being negotiated. On Thursday, a substitute was introduced that did remove some of the burdens that Planned Parenthood Association of Utah said gave people newer requirements and fewer choices.
But the group said it still had objections to the bill.
"While this bill purports to protect survivors of sexual assault, it will actually do the opposite and discourage them from getting the care they may need. Requiring a police report to receive an abortion is not trauma informed, not supported by evidence, and could result in re-traumatizing survivors," Planned Parenthood Association of Utah CEO Karrie Galloway said in a statement to FOX 13 News. "It could also result in immediate safety risks. This bill burdens survivors of sexual assault with unnecessary and harmful restrictions on their personal autonomy and privacy. The current amendments do not sufficiently alleviate those harms."
Even before the bill was filed, it was getting attention. Rep. Birkeland's own sister, a sexual assault survivor, criticized the pending legislation in an interview withThe Salt Lake Tribune.
Rep. Birkeland said the goal of her legislation was to see law enforcement do more to investigate sexual assaults.
"It is really important to me that we have accountability for the perpetrators. Because if we allow them to keep walking the streets, we encourage them to abuse other women. We can’t have that," she said. "The law was passed long before I was a lawmaker that said women need to report this to police to have an abortion. I’m not re-addressing that law. I’m asking though that when providers perform an abortion due to rape, they let the Health and Human Services department know how they went to police."
