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SALT LAKE CITY — As the weather turned from mild to frigid, demonstrators gathered in front of the state Capitol building late Saturday morning to participate in the annual March for Life, sponsored by Pro-Life Utah.
From the granite steps, Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, told the crowd, "Since Roe v. Wade was overturned a year and a half ago the battlegrounds have changed, but abortion still remains a huge problem in Utah."
"For a year and a half, babies are dying every day," Taylor said. "We've got over 4,800 babies that have died since the injunction, and that's why we march."
The Supreme Court's June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade prompted enforcement Utah's so-called "trigger law," banning nearly all abortions in the state. But Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit arguing the law violated the Utah Constitution. An injunction was granted by District Court Judge Andrew Stone in July 2022 while the case remained in litigation, halting the enforcement of the abortion ban.
According to Stone, Planned Parenthood successfully showed that women who are seeking abortions may be harmed by seeking treatment out of the state or resorting to unsafe means. Planned Parenthood's attorney Julie Murray argued the "trigger law" breaches constitutional provisions providing the right to determine one's own family composition, equal rights to men and women, the right to bodily autonomy and the right to privacy.
Pro-Life Utah's director of development, Merrilee Boyack, took the stand Saturday to say "Make no mistake about it, the people of Utah have blood on their hands. When a baby's life — at whatever stage of growth — is ended, it is not innocent. It is not inconsequential, and it's not a justifiable act."
Some attendees were drawn to the event through various religious beliefs. The Rev. Tony Masinelli from Grace Lutheran Church initiated the gathering with public prayer. Saint Thomas More Catholic Church was a sponsor of the event. Attendees Harijinder Singh, 45, and his brother were motivated by teachings of their Sikh faith and its founder, Guru Nanak.
Others had personal reasons for attending.
"My mom was told to abort me in 1945, and she said 'no'," said Jim Timmel, 78. "It's changing one heart and mind at a time. That's why we're here."
Brad Bonham, Gov. Spencer Cox's entrepreneur in residence, was a big supporter of the event.
"For us, supporting initiatives around saving lives in the womb, protecting the rights of the unborn, and providing these innocent, small babies the safety and security of being born happy and healthy has been really important to us ever since we lost our son," said Bonham, whose infant son died hours after birth due to a kidney condition.
Like Bonham, a nearby mother who attended with her four kids said she became passionate about the issue after losing her first child shortly after he was born.
While marchers circled the Capitol with yellow flags, Boyack said, "Everybody thinks that abortion went away in Utah, and so it was important for us to stand here and say it's getting worse and we have to take action."
For over 30 years, Boyak has been crocheting baby blankets for a local pregnancy resource business. "I think (the march) sends a message not only to our legislators but also to our courts. People are pro-life here in Utah."
"I think it went very well. It didn't rain. It was a little nippy, but it didn't rain," Taylor said after returning from the march. "I think this year's a little quiet on the pro-life front in the Legislature. We're still on hold waiting to find out what is going to happen with that trigger law, and so things are a little bit quiet. But again, I think it's always useful to show our legislators how much we are behind them."
Pro-Life released a statement Saturday numbering the crowd at "more than 1,200 Utahns."
