Utah law requiring anesthesia before abortion goes into effect
The Utah House of Representatives debate on the floor in Salt Lake City, March 10, 2016. (Rick Bowmer/AP)
A first-in-the-country requirement that women receive anesthesia before abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy is one of about 350 new Utah laws that take effect Tuesday.
Utah is the first state in the country that’s requiring doctors to give anesthesia to a woman having an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later.
The law is based on the disputed notion that a fetus can feel pain at that point in development.
Doctors say the law could jeopardize women’s health by giving them unnecessary sedation to prevent pain that a fetus may not be able to feel.
