(Credit: Paul Nelson)
UTAH STATE CAPITOL – You are no longer welcome here. That’s what one anti-abortion group is saying to the leadership of Planned Parenthood in Utah.
The group Abortion Free Utah filled the steps inside the capitol rotunda, wearing matching yellow shirts and holding signs saying, “We will not stand by while babies are killed by abortion.”
The group says it wants to eliminate elective abortion in Utah, plus, they have one major statement for Planned Parenthood.
“We are inviting Planned Parenthood of Utah to leave to leave the state of Utah,” AFU Chair Merrilee Boyack announced from the podium.
Boyack says PP doesn’t provide all of the services they claim, and there are other medical facilities that can give expectant mothers the care they need. She also cites studies that show women who have abortions are more likely to take their own life, but Boyack believes PP doesn’t like to talk about that.
“When women go in, they’re not advised of mental health outcomes,” she says.
Boyack claims PP performs roughly eight abortions every day in Utah.
However, officials with Planned Parenthood of Utah say they’ve been around for 50 years, and they plan to be around for a lot longer. They say families are healthier when parents are allowed to plan them as they so choose, so they’ll offer abortion services and sexual education information.
“So they know how to plan responsibly and safely their families,” according to CEO Karrie Galloway.
She says they have plenty of legal help and they can call on the national organization if they need to. However, Galloway doesn’t believe groups like Abortion Free Utah have the best interest of women at heart.
“They want to make health care decisions for other women,” she says.
Galloway cites studies that show roughly 70 percent of people across the country don’t want abortion laws to be changed.
