Abortion could be outlawed in Utah if a local representative's bill makes it through this session.

"I'm excited that we will lead the nation," said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, about first substitute House Bill 235.

The bill was introduced in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday by Rep. Stephen E. Sandstrom, R-Orem.

It replaces Ray's original bill that could have made abortion illegal if any time in the future the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

"Someone needs to challenge the Supreme Court," Ray said.

The substitute bill would not wait for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. It could make abortion illegal if the Legislature approves it except in the case of the woman's physical health or if the woman is pregnant because of incest or rape and it is reported to law enforcement "before the child is viable to survive outside the woman's womb," according to the document.

A woman's mental health is not a reason for an abortion, Ray said.

Ray said he and other representatives decided Tuesday morning to write the substitute bill after talking with some members of the House and Senate leadership and with the state Attorney General's Office.

He said he was assured there will be funding available to defend the bill in the face of legal challenges.

The committee approved the substitute bill on a vote of 5-2. Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, and Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Salt Lake City, voted against the bill.

"Personally, I do not favor abortion," Riesen said. "That's my choice. I think women should have the same choice. This is about their body, about their children, about their families. It is a decision between the woman, her clergy and her doctor."

Litvack said legislators should not even consider a bill "that is so blatantly unconstitutional." Instead they should consider bills that would address prevention, Litvack said.

"Why are there abortionsfi Whyfi" Litvack said.

Litvack said it's time to start giving youth accurate information, instead of teaching abstinence.

Legislators need to put their energy and resources into addressing why so many children in Utah are going to bed hungry and living in cars with their families instead of supporting Ray's bill, Litvack said.

Sandstrom said the abortion bill will be the most important one he has supported since he became a state legislator. This is his first term.

"It amazes me that we take 3,000 lives a year," Sandstrom said.

There have been 48 million abortions performed nationally since 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, Sandstrom said.

Karrie Galloway, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said after the meeting she felt it was a "bait and switch."

"The public came to talk about a trigger law, instead they got a complete ban," Galloway said.

The bill, if it becomes law, is unconstitutional, Galloway said.

Galloway said she hopes the bill was not in response to an e-mail campaign that asked representatives to vote against the original bill.

Representatives said they received about 200 e-mails Tuesday morning concerning Ray's original bill.

Galloway told committee members that Utah has the lowest rate of abortions nationally each year.

"Women in Utah live their values," she said.

But there are about 3,000 abortions each year. The average age of a woman seeking an abortion is 25, Galloway said. Of those women, 66 percent have one to six children.

About 52 percent of the women who chose abortion believe they have no control over their child-bearing decisions, Galloway said.

First Substitute House Bill 235, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton. This bill would outlaw abortions, except in cases to avert a woman's death or avert a serious risk to a woman of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, or if the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape that was reported to police before the abortion is performed, and the abortion is performed before the unborn child is viable to survive outside of the womb. The bill also creates a fund for the legal defense of the bill.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.