A sexual assault survivor is sharing her story in an attempt to stop her lawmaker sister’s abortion bill

Republican state Rep. Kera Birkeland is proposing a bill that would keep clinics from offering abortions to rape victims who can’t provide a law enforcement-generated case number.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Samantha Hansen pictured in her home, Oct. 20, 2022. Hansen was a student at Brigham Young University in 2014 when she became pregnant after she was sexually assaulted. Hansen, then 21, considered an abortion but ended up miscarrying. Hansen is against a newly-proposed Utah bill that would keep clinics from offering abortions to rape victims who can't provide a law enforcement-generated case number. The bill's sponsor is her sister, Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan.

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Emily Anderson SternStatewatch Reporter

Emily is a statewatch reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune, where she has worked since 2022. She received her master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. There, she worked on investigative projects for The Washington Post and ProPublica. While writing, she's probably spinning something from her ever-expanding shelf of punk records.