RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN UTAH LAW: G. The Constitutionality of the Utah Wrongful Life Act
In: Utah Law Review, Jg. 2004 (2004), S. 267
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1. Introduction In Wood v. University of Utah Medical Center, 1 the Supreme Court of Utah upheld the constitutionality of the Utah Wrongful Life Act 2 (the "Act"), 3 which prohibits lawsuits "based on the claim that but for the act or omission of another, a person would not have been permitted to have been born alive but would have aborted." 4 The court in Wood affirmed the district court's decision to dismiss the plaintiffs' claim that the Act is unconstitutional. 5 First, the court held the Act does not violate the Open Courts Clause of the Utah Constitution, 6 because the Act is subject to a presumption-of-constitutionality standard, and, moreover, the Act does not abrogate an existing legal remedy. 7 Second, the court ruled the Act does not violate state or federal due process guarantees, 8 because the Act does not unduly burden the ability of a woman to obtain an abortion. 9 Finally, the court determined the Act does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution or the Utah Constitution's Uniform Operation of Laws provision, 10 considered the equivalent of the federal Equal Protection Clause, 11 since individuals who choose to have an abortion are not entitled to special protection as a class. 12 2. The Case Upon becoming pregnant, plaintiffs Marie Wood and her husband Terry Borman consulted the University of Utah Medical Center ("Medical Center") regarding the risk that their unborn child would be born with a genetic ...
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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN UTAH LAW: G. The Constitutionality of the Utah Wrongful Life Act
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Zeitschrift: | Utah Law Review, Jg. 2004 (2004), S. 267 |
Veröffentlichung: | 2004 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
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