Utah woman's ectopic pregnancy highlights legal uncertainty for doctors

An attorney from Sandy shares her personal ordeal with an ectopic pregnancy that nearly proved fatal because Utah’s abortion law provides no clear threshold for doctors to intervene. After weeks of blood tests and ultrasounds, she received methotrexate at eight weeks, which did not work, and the pregnancy ruptured, requiring emergency surgery that removed her left fallopian tube. She cites an analysis indicating that ectopic-pregnancy deaths have almost doubled since 2020, especially in states with stringent abortion restrictions.

Although Utah’s near-total ban is currently blocked and abortions are permitted up to 18 weeks, the law’s silence on required certainty places physicians at risk of felony charges. The Utah Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether a Planned Parenthood challenge can proceed, a decision that could affect future medical decisions for pregnant women in the state. She urges lawmakers to craft clearer exceptions to protect women’s health.