Hundreds of people gathered at the Utah State Capitol for the 11th annual Utah March for Life this Saturday, January 24th.
Attendees of all ages, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds gathered together to raise their voices in defense of unborn children. The March for Life event began with a brief program on the steps of the capitol building, which were adorned with white flowers representing the babies who have been robbed of their opportunity to live full lives due to the tragedy of abortion.
The program featured a lineup of speakers including social media personalities Sarah Clark and Kai Schwemmer. Also participating were Bishop Solis of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City and Elder Randy Austin from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Pro-Life Utah president Mary Taylor began the program by quoting the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” she announced, and clarified that this sentence does not include exceptions based on any characteristic, especially not a person’s stage of development or level of convenience when they were conceived.
During her address, she shared that with the help of donations and volunteers, pro-life Utah was able to help 154 women turn away from abortion last year by offering free pregnancy tests and ultra sounds, food, housing, and baby supplies for women considering abortion.
After Taylor’s introduction, TPUSA UVU chapter president Caleb Chilcutt and vice president David Sanchez each spoke, honoring the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, who they respected as one of the “most influential pro-life activists” of this generation.
Kai Schwemmer, political activist and commentator, then offered powerful remarks in which he argued that all political and moral causes flow from the pro-life cause, because without life, no other cause matters. Acknowledging that the battle for life must be fought in the political realm, he invited those in attendance to engage politically so that everyone might have the chance to experience life, with all the joys – and even the hardships – that accompany it.
Social media influencer Sarah Clark testified of the sacred and precious nature of every human life, which begins in the womb. She shared the tender story of her friend Lola, who, due to the circumstances of her conception, many in the pro-choice movement would consider to be better off aborted. Lola was not robbed of her right to life, but was instead adopted into a loving family and gets to experience the joys of life every day.
After the speeches and prayers, the crowd joined in singing “Amazing Grace” as it was played on the bagpipes, then they began the march. Attendees held signs carrying the names of aborted babies and other statements such as “Inconvenience never justifies murder,” “I miss ⅓ of my generation I never got to be friends with,” and “Abortion is the only surgery you aren’t supposed to survive.”
So why did hundreds of people feel the need to meet at the state capitol in below freezing temperatures to be a voice for the unborn?
When Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, Utah’s S.B 174, which bans abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, risk of death or serious bodily impairment to the mother, or a lethal defect or brain abnormality of the fetus, was meant to go into effect, but Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and the ACLU sued the state, and 4 years later, the bill is still not being enforced as the case makes its way through the court system. “Meanwhile,” says Mary Taylor “over 10,000 preborn babies that should have been protected by this law have died in tragic and barbaric abortions. . . the slaughter continues.”
Utah’s March for Life calls upon lawmakers and citizens to stand up and for and defend the defenseless babies who, while abortion is legal, will never have the chance to be born.
Cover Photo Source: The Cougar Chronicle
