ST. GEORGE – About two dozen pro-life advocates gathered at 600 S. Bluffs St. in St. George Wednesday morning to protest the controversial Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling which, in essence, restricted states from enforcing anti-abortion laws. It was the 41st anniversary of the controversial ruling that triggered a nationwide divide on basic human rights questions, when does life begin, does and should one human being have a right to intervene in the progression of another life?
The peaceful prayer vigil Wednesday was held from 10 a.m. to noon on the sidewalk outside of the St. George office of Planned Parenthood. Some participants brought their own signs, others used those provided by the organizers.
Rose Medina unveiled a new large banner that read: “Please don’t believe the lies, abortion kills your baby.”
“We are here to protect the unborn and we are not going to go away until all of our unborn brothers and sisters are protected by the law,” Medina said.
“I am here in particular to support men who regret the loss of their babies because of an abortion,” one activist, Julie Romanov, said, “and also women who do regret abortions.”
(report continues below)
Cameras and recording equipment are not allowed on or in the Planned Parenthood property out of respect for women and men that use their services. Planned Parenthood’s public relations representative in Utah, Karrie Galloway, said: “We acknowledge the protesters out front of the Planned Parenthood corner in St. George have every right to express whatever it is that they are expressing. My question for them is what is their motivation for making women uncomfortable for taking care of their health care?” – a rhetorical question as it was given in a telephone conversation from Salt Lake and not directly to the demonstrators.
“We are here every first Saturday of the month from 10 (a.m.) to 12 (p.m.) in prayer for the precious unborn babies, and their mothers and fathers,” Medina said, “and we welcome everybody to come join us.”
On the other side of the great divide over the abortion question, those who characterize themselves pro-choice, none came out to counter the pro-life demonstration Wednesday morning.
“Women have had a choice in anything medical, maybe not early 19th century, mid-19th century, but we certainly have that choice now,” Julie said, “and I definitely do not support abortion.”
“I am proud of what Planned Parenthood does,” Galloway said.
Does Planned Parenthood prevent abortions? “That is our main goal,” Galloway said. “Our abortion services that we provide at Planned Parenthood at a health center here in Salt Lake are less than 1 percent of the services that we provide to over 56,000 men and women in Utah every year. Well-people’s exams and contraception and family planning and healthy sexuality education is what Planned Parenthood is providing.”
“We do more than any of those protesters could ever think of doing to make sure that people can create the family that they want,” Galloway said.
The St. George Clinic of Planned Parenthood does not perform abortions, but a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Salt Lake area does. According to the St. George Planned Parenthood’s website, the local clinic does provide abortion referrals.
Hope Pregnancy Care Center, located at 391 E. 500 S. in St. George, is an alternative resource for women and men in the St. George area who are facing pregnancy challenges, considering options, want parenting education – even fatherhood 101, are single parenting, or struggling in the aftermath of an abortion. Hope acknowledges all legal options available to a client regarding pregnancy, but it does not provide abortion referrals.
St. George News Editor-in-Chief Joyce Kuzmanic contributed to this report.
Resources
Hope Pregnancy Care Center | Telephone 435-652-8343 | 391 E. 500 S., St. George
Planned Parenthood – St. George Clinic | Telephone 435-674-9933 | 595 S. Bluff St., St. George
Related posts
- Perspectives: A long overdue message about choice
- Hope Pregnancy Care Center hosts open house, workshops for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
- Abortion in Utah Legal but Availability Limited, Especially in Southern Utah
- Perspectives: Euphemistic abortion words make us feel better
- Hope Pregnancy Care Center, 7 years and growing: New facility, programs, hundreds of families helped
- Planned Parenthood: Sexual Education Before Abortion as STDs On the Rise
- Demonstrators converge before Planned Parenthood; STGnews videocast – January 2013
- Perspectives: Choice lies in the bedroom, not at pregnancy; common sense morality
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.
I think that all these old folk’s that have all the time on there hands could adopt all the children that are a possible abortion, then we wouldn’t have to worry about it. They could pay for all the medical bills as well.
Learn to spell first before taxing your mind with social issues that you apparantly don’t understand.
Speaking of learning to spell…
ap·par·ent·ly
əˈparəntlē,əˈpe(ə)r-/Submit
adverb
1.
as far as one knows or can see.
synonyms: seemingly, evidently, it seems (that), it appears (that), it would seem (that), it would appear (that), as far as one knows, by all accounts;
I don’t think they’re at all interested in the child after it’s born.
I have felt a loss and sadness since my girlfriend at the time got an illegal abortion in 1970. I support Right To Life. Abortion is something that more than just the woman is going to regret.
So let me get this straight, if I were to have my choices taken away form me by being raped by some guy that I didn’t want to have sex with, I find out I am pregnant with this scum bags kid, these people want me to continue to have my choices taken away from me by being forced to carry the kid to term? Doesn’t sound fair to me. I am Pro-Choice all the way. Some dirt bag man can make the choice to rape me, then I can make the choice to terminate the pregnancy should I become pregnant afterwards.
I have friends that have had abortions, some of them have spent many years later feeling guilty for that. Others have been fine with the choice. That is a personal choice for each woman to make on their own. And whatever the consequences of that choice will be dealt with by a higher power in the afterlife.
Yes, the pro-life agenda would legally force you to carry it full term regardless of rape or incest.
So you’re saying that murdering a pre-born baby is ok but rape is not? Just because the woman CHOSES to have an abortion, that’s OK but a man who CHOSES to have sex with a woman who does not want to have sex is not OK? Kind of sounds like a double standard. I don’t think that baby would CHOSE to be ripped from its cozy little home (womb) if they had a choice.
Here are some statistics according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & The Allen Guttmacher Institute:
95% of abortions are done as birth control
1% are done because of rape/incest
1% because of fetal abnormalities
3% due to the mother’s health problems
Too bad those who CHOSE to have unprotected sex CHOSE to use abortion as their plan B. Too bad Pro-Choice folks use the rape analogy as their scapegoat or reasoning on why abortion is OK.
Source:
Ask yourself this Sally. If you didn’t have the idea in your head that Jesus Christ himself wanted you to save these developing unborn would you even care?
If I’m not mistaken mormons are somewhat tolerant of abortion. So are these folks all catholics or…?
Anyway, it’s pretty obvious that the folks seen here are most all seniors. If you ever go into pretty much any church (mormons being the exception here) you will notice that there are very few young people that attend. What I’m trying to say here is that organized religion will become a smaller and smaller presence over the next decade or two, and I think we can take comfort in that fact.
Actually it is fact that more youth these days are prolife than ever before.
Having sex is where the choice is made. Don’t make the little baby forming in the womb suffer the consequence of your choice.
Just to clarify in my opinion if your raped it should be up to you but I’m still a pro-lifer. Don’t kill the un-born just because you don’t want children.
“if your raped it should be up to you but I’m still a pro-lifer.”
It’s good that you keep an open mind. I’m a pro-lifer also in that I don’t like to kill anything. But life is rarely black and white in any way.
I have so many friends that are unable to have children. I am pro life 100 percent. No excuses. No abortion is right unless the mother is in danger. I would give my life for my kids in a heartbeat. I would choose their life over mine. Adoption is a wonderful thing. Abortions are selfish.
I will always vote for women to have the right to make their own choices about their own bodies. And, I will never pretend those who do otherwise are anything more than ignorant arrogant misinformed religious zealots. Grow brains bible thumpers.
This is not only about a woman’s rights. My rights end where where my baby’s rights begin. Please see my comment below to MCM. Women get to make lots of choices about their reproductive health, but ending a human life should not be one of them.
Pro-life means you have NO choice. For those of you saying I am pro-life unless your raped or unless your life is in danger, guess what your on the wrong team, saying unless now makes you Pro-choice welcome to the right side. It sounds like most of you are thinking you are pro-life maybe because your mom and dad said you are, live your life not some one else’s, how would you like it if you never had a choice on anything, who to date, who to marry, ect. I had a friend that was raped when she was 17 by her brother, her family was pro-life and wouldn’t let her have an abortion, she killed her self, because no one would let her have a choice, so her life was ended because of a life that had not been. Every one does something they regret that is for them do live with not you. PRO-CHOICE because every one should have a CHOICE… RIP Jen
You say everyone should have a CHOICE, but the baby in that situation is SOMEONE who did not have a CHOICE. That is a very sad circumstance for your 17 yr old friend, and the chance of that baby having a defect would’ve been 6-9% higher than average. and there are cases like that where the child had no problems. Your friend’s baby was a human deserving of care and love, and the girl had other choices besides abortion or suicide. Even if her baby was born with a birth defect, there are compassionate people who do adopt children with health problems. I hope the brother is in jail for a long time.
Goofy “pro-lifers” just need to have their noses up in everybody else’s business… that’s all there is to it.
Just like every topic you will find people who agree to a degree on one extreme to another. I say I’m pro life because way to many people use abortions as a way out when they made the choice to have sex and ended up pregnant. If I got raped I would still carry the baby full term then put it up for adoption. But I’m not going to judge some one who has been raped for choosing to end the pregnancy. If a woman’s life is in danger depending on the sercomestances then they should be able to choose. That’s between them and God.
*will agree to one degree or another
I would like to suggest that most pro-choice posts here tacitly assume that the unborn baby is not a human being in some way or another, at some time or another before birth. This is why the prochoice argument usually revolves around a woman’s right to choose. To hold this opinion is fine, but you will never understand the pro-life position, because that position is held from an idea that is prior in notion to the idea of choice. The prolife argument starts from the idea that an unborn baby is a human being from conception and as such has rights equal to, and separate from, those of it’s mother. The question of choice comes after the question of being. The prolife argument says that the judicial decision handed down in Roe v. Wade is morally wrong and sweeps away those rights from a living human being. I don’t see why anyone who can clearly view both positions as they are would need to find refuge in emotional outburst and vague statements of political postion.
I understand the “pro life” position perfectly well. You want to force your religious agenda on every person alive. If you care so much about saving lives why not focus on some people already born. Open your mind a little Roy. Look at it from another point of view…
I heard that in the former Soviet Union they used abortions as a main form of birth control. A goal I think we can agree on is making it so abortions aren’t even necessary. But in the case of Catholics, they don’t even believe in contraception, maybe because the “right to life” applies to sperm as well? I have no idea. I don’t even know how to reason with that kind of logic.
I hear what you’re saying Roy J, and you’re right that the views about when life begins are different. I just don’t see why I NEED to understand the anti-choice position. If they believe life begins at conception, good for them, they can NOT have an abortion. It’s not what I believe or know, it’s a clump of cells, without feelings, thoughts, self-awareness or the capacity to survive on it’s own. It’s a potential human, in the same way that a sperm cell is a potential human, or an ovary. I’ve no interest in believing that some invisible guy in the sky has endowed a clump of cells with a “soul”. To me, that’s utter hogwash. I have no problem with other’s believing what they wish, and they are welcome to hold signs and express their beliefs all day if they please, their choice, but they have no right to FORCE me to believe in or abide by their silly little antiquated lies.
I think the Catholic church teaches that the fertilized embryo is endowed by god with a soul. Not really any way to argue that with them since it’s the official church stance. So to prevent the abortions you would say “hey lets pass out contraception then.” But no no no because the church has also told them that SEX MUST ONLY BE FOR PROCREATION. So you’ve got the catholic church in these developing countries preaching these things and people who can’t afford to feed their children keep having more children because they’re just trying to be good catholics. Fortunately people are catching on to this sort of nuttery, and the new pope may just move the church in a more sensible direction.
I don’t know as much about the reasoning of other anti-choice religions such as the southern ones. But it’s probably just more of the same…
I’m going to go out on a limb here, MCM, and guess that you aren’t hiding any PH.Ds up your sleeves, and in addition to that, you haven’t bothered to read any of the actual biological literature on this subject, just some pro-choice articles that didn’t bother to read the articles that they cited. I recommend that you do your homework; nobody can do it for you. Not many serious doctors and biologists out there who would put their names to print behind your clumps of cells argument. Good luck to you.
The problem with pro-life fanatics is that their idea of solving a problem is to just pretend it doesn’t exist–basically the denial of facts.
What facts do u claim pro life people are denying? It seems YOU are the one denying facts. It is a clear fact of science that a human is a human from the moment of conception. Please see my other comment to MCM.
Antiquated lies, eh? No. One doesn’t need to be religious to easily understand the scientific reality that abortion kills a human, an individual person with their own unique DNA. A sperm alone is not a potential human, only when an egg is fertilized by a sperm will it be a growing human. (not a potential human, an already human) If that tiny growing person inside doesn’t matter, then why do any of us larger humans really matter? .. In your view, when does a person start to matter? By the time a woman can even have a positive preg test, her baby’s heart is already beating with their own blood type, and their eyes, ears, mouth, brain, kidney and liver are already discernable. 6 wks after conception (which is 8 wks gestation, meaning 8 wks after the last period) they already have fingers and toes on their tiny arms and legs. Who are you to say a newly conceived human doesn’t matter, and why? just because they are small and don’t look the way people outside of the womb look? I can assure you a human growing inside looks just as any human at that stage of life should look. Don’t say they don’t matter because they lack awareness until a certain stage, because then what of a person who is in a coma or under anesthesia? Is it ok to kill them as long as they aren’t aware or don’t feel pain? You say you don’t think the unborn have souls, so do you think you have a soul? Do u think your life is valuable? Why? Is it because you are large and have more control over your life? No human should try to end another innocent human’s life. It is wrong for people to draw an imaginary line as to when life begins, because when people think it is their place to do that, it becomes about convenience. Science shows clearly that a new human life is created at the very moment of conception. I do happen to believe in God, which is why life matters to me. If you believe it would be wrong for someone to end your life because you’re human, you need to think deeply about why your life matters. I believe you matter 🙂 and that all humans matter. If u made an uninformed decision and got an abortion thinking it was just a clump of cells, it is not too late if you want to have a relationship with God. You are his, he loves you and understands how so many women have been deceived. The baby is not always the only victim of abortion. Peace out.
Not sure anyone still reading this but just wanted to add. For those ‘pro-life’ members of the catholic church, I hope you can see some irony here about that church’s own history. Besides official governments of nations, no other organization in the history of man is responsible for more death and suffering than the Roman Catholic church. Do the research. It’s interesting to know.