All Female Utah State Senators Leave Chamber During Passage Of Pro-Life Legislature

Dan Montanaro | March 12, 2020
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As Utah legislators passed HB364, a bill that would require those seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound, during Tuesday’s session, all six of the state’s female senators got up and left the chamber in protest.

Democratic Sen. Luz Escamilla posted pictures of herself and the other five women on Twitter along with the caption “Love my sisters in the Senate. A spontaneous decision not planned of sisterhood against the invasive nature of HB 364.”

Escamilla was joined in her tweeting by fellow Democrat Sen. Kathleen Reibe, who said “Thank you to these incredible women. Invasive and unnecessary medical procedures are never best practice.”

After an earlier version of the bill passed in the Utah House last week 47-20, the amended bill passed in the Utah Senate 16-7.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Sen. Deidre Henderson says the walk out wasn't thought out before hand. 

Henderson and the other female senators, which included one other Republican, spoke in favor of the amendment and then exited the chamber as their names were called for a final vote on the bill, HB364.

'It wasn’t planned, but a spontaneous decision to put an exclamation mark on our concerns about the invasive nature of that bill,' Henderson said. 

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