SB109 abolishes the "right of action for alienation of affections."
The House passed SB109 on February 26, 2026, by a vote of 47 to 2. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill removes civil liability for malicious interference in the martial relationship. Like "no-fault divorce" and the legalization of adultery, it permits a person to commit serious acts of injury against a spouse with impunity—thereby aiding and abetting the breaking of the marital covenant while denying victims due process of law. Innocent parties are left with no right to their day in court. It also wrongly assumes that marriage, or morality itself, is to be determined exclusively, even frivolously, by the government. The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment do not render conjugal rights as meaningless. Marriage, being coeval with mankind, is ordained by God, not the state. The most sacred of all human institutions, marriage is a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman, whose one-flesh union serves as the foundation of the family. God-honoring, loving marriages are essential to securing "the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," but the fallout from the widespread war on marriage and the family has been devastating. Utah has a duty to protect marriages and punish those responsible for wrecking them.
