About 500 anti-abortion protesters gathered at the Utah Capitol last week to oppose abortion ahead of oral arguments in the Utah legislature. The group included members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Catholics.
Currently, abortion is legal in Utah up until 18 weeks of pregnancy in certain conditions: The pregnancy is a result of rape, incest or causes significant bodily harm to the mother. A more restrictive trigger law was passed in 2020 and went into effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. An injunction was quickly placed on that law and has since been held at an impasse.
“Regardless of when people consider life starting, a baby in the womb has the potential of being a living person,” one protester said. “We all have a plan here on Earth. That person’s plan will never get to be lived out because they were aborted.”
In 2023, there were a reported 4,080 abortions in the state of Utah. This data does not include self-managed abortions including those using mifepristone and misoprostol. Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, but statistics show abortions have increased in Utah since the ruling.
Planned Parenthood, which recently had funding reinstated in Utah, cannot offer abortions in its clinics anymore but it may still provide reproductive care.
“The ability to control your own personal medical decisions, including whether to end a pregnancy, is a fundamental human right,” the Planned Parenthood website reads in a statement. “Restricting abortion access is dangerous and inhumane.”
Oral arguments about abortion will begin in four months.
Author: Hannah Clove
Photo of the Salt Lake City Planned Parenthood, courtesy of Rick Bowmer, AP News
Editor: Brooklyn Beard
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