Advocates rally at Utah Capitol as abortion case nears oral arguments

SALT LAKE CITY — A crowd of about 500 Utahns gathered at the steps of the Utah Capitol on Saturday to pray for the unborn.

Catholics, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others huddled in the sub-freezing weather around leaders from the Diocese of Salt Lake City ahead of Pro-Life Utah's 11th annual March for Life.

This year, the event's speakers, which included Utah Valley University's TurningPoint USA founder Sarah Clark, the club's current leadership and Brigham Young University student Kai Schwemmer spoke from the Capitol steps.

The event came four months before Utah is set to begin oral arguments in the state's long legal battle over abortion.

While abortion is currently legal in Utah for a woman's first 18 weeks of pregnancy, a more restrictive law, which allows abortion only in certain situations, was passed in 2020. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the law went into effect but was quickly enjoined. It has remained locked up in the courts for the past 3½ years.

Young Utahns express hope the state will become more pro-life

Mary Clare Sanderson, a sophomore at Chesterton Academy, a new classical education school in Bountiful, said her Catholic faith has led her to see dignity in "every human life."

But babies suffer a kind of double standard, she told the Deseret News. In some pregnancies, babies are celebrated throughout gestation with gender reveal parties and as their parents decide a name. "But then there are so many other times when a woman is aborting during the same amount of time, so why are we celebrating one and killing the other?" Sanderson said.

Ronak Tathireddy, a junior at Chesterton Academy, added, "Regardless of when people consider life starting, a baby in the womb has the potential of being a living person. We all have a plan here on Earth. That person's plan will just never get to be lived out, because they were aborted."

Tathireddy's classmate, Luke Ritter, added, "I think really advocating for adoption and for mothers to keep their children if they can is just really important."

Leiden Seethaler and Lucky Jamison, current students at Utah Valley University, told the Deseret News that abortion is one issue that brings their nonpolitical friends to the table.

Seethaler said, "I think if everybody had the opportunity to see what an abortion does, how horrible it looks and what it's actually like, a lot of people would change their minds on it."

Speakers defend the sanctity of life in the womb

After UVU's TPUSA President Caleb Chilcutt led a moment of silence for conservative activist and TurningPoint USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a campus event last September, BYU student Kai Schwemmer took the podium.

Schwemmer described the country's abortion debate as a "spiritual, political conflict that concerns every single moment of an individual's life."

Pro-life opposition "tells people they are not worth it," he said. "It tells people that because of the circumstances of their birth, it would have been better if they had been killed in the womb. This is a lie."

"There is no justification — no matter the circumstance of an individual's birth, no matter their poverty, no matter the perception that others have of them — for their death in the womb before they ever have the chance to inherit this beautiful opportunity to live, to learn, to grow. Yes, to endure hardship," Schwemmer said. "Hardship is a necessary part of every single life. It is not a justification for taking it."

Sarah Clark took the podium after Schwemmer and asked members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to stand with her against abortion. She disagreed with those who say abortion is justified because God grants his children "free agency."

"Let us be clear. There is no such thing as free agency," Clark said. "It was bought and paid for by the blood and body of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our right to choose came at the price of our Father, our Heavenly Father's Only Begotten. ... Our Heavenly Father could not be more clear. Abortion is wrong, and supporting it in any way is wrong."

Then Clark addressed any women who have had an abortion. "To the post-abortive woman, please know God's same love and support is available to you. Your pain is our pain and our Savior's pain. He will heal you and help you in ways you don't even know yet," she said.

She continued, "To everyone within the sound of my voice, both inside the womb and outside, please know your infinite and divine worth. Your life was worth the blood and body of our Savior, Jesus Christ."

The official stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on abortion is:

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of human life. Therefore, the church opposes elective abortion for personal or social convenience, and counsels its members not to submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions.

"The church allows for possible exceptions for its members when:

• Pregnancy results from rape or incest, or
• A competent physician determines that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy, or
• A competent physician determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.

"Even these exceptions do not automatically justify abortion. Abortion is a most serious matter. It should be considered only after the persons responsible have received confirmation through prayer. Members may counsel with their bishops as part of this process."

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