Sofia Chacon and Claudia Chacon participate in the fifth annual March for Life Utah event at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. (Ivy Ceballo, KSL)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Pro-life Utah hosted its annual March for Life Saturday where thousands of supporters gathered to rally at the Capitol. Many of those gathered wore pro-life shirts calling to protect the unborn.
Others wore nametags with children names to remember those aborted in Utah, with 3,000 nametags signifying the yearly average in the state.
“There are so many people without children, that they can’t conceive,” said Larry Pollack, one of the attendees, to KSL.com. “It’s so sad. They don’t know until they lose something like I’ve lost.”
The national march usually falls around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court Decision that ruled women have the constitutional right to have abortions. This year marks the 47th anniversary of that decision.
Organizers reported that at least 2,500 people attended the march.
Many marchers said they were there to stand up for life and the right to live. They also mentioned their support for more resources that would give women other choices rather than to abort.
“I want people to understand that life is precious at every stage, and that no one should be killed because someone else finds them inconvenient. And for me, there was a weight on my life, and I needed to do something about it,” said Krisy Nielsen, who’s involved with Pro-Life Utah, to KSL.com.
Some state legislators also attended the march, speaking about future bills they plan to propose that would protect unborn children. One proposed bill includes one similar to legislation in Kentucky that requires the mother to get an ultrasound before making the decision to abort.
Some attendees traveled from farther away to attend the march, like Wendy Shelton who came from Cache Valley to show her support.
“We’ve been standing for the sanctity of human life every year. Every year we go, and it’s just a little, small handful. So coming down here to this, where you see the large group of people, it’s very encouraging,” Shelton said.
Other organizers agreed with Shelton, saying this year’s March for Life is the largest they’ve seen it.