ST. GEORGE — A group of about 35 to 40 people gathered on Friday evening at Vernon Worthen Park in St. George to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the end of almost five decades of constitutionally-protected abortion.

“I think, like every other pro-life person, I started crying,” said Katherine Larsen, coordinator for Pro-Life Utah South, of the moment when she heard about the 5-4 decision Friday reversing the court’s 1973 decision. “We’re just thankful that it happened, and that elective abortions are no longer allowed in the state of Utah. I’m still crying.”

Along with her husband Bryant, Larsen invited local members of the anti-abortion nonprofit as well as sympathetic community members to a “Post Roe Rally and Celebration.”

Young adults mingled with retirees, grade school children and middle-aged parents as vocal pro-life demonstrators talked with elected officials, including St. George City Council member Michelle Tanner, Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow and recently appointed interim state Rep. Colin Jack.

Snow, who was not yet born when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, said he had a hard time believing it would ever be overturned in his lifetime – even studying the landmark case during his time in law school.

Nonetheless, he said he was happy with the reversal and especially glad that abortion rights would now be determined on a state-by-state basis.

“I’m a strong advocate for local government being the best, as it’s the most responsive to the people,” Snow said. “What the Supreme Court did today is empower a closer government – sometimes state government doesn’t feel real close – but at least it’s closer to the people. Much more so than the federal government.”

A spokesperson for the Utah Legislature released a statement late Friday afternoon saying that a bill passed in 2020 that prohibited all elective abortions in Utah except in circumstances involving rape, incest or medical emergency was now in effect. 

The bill, Abortion Prohibition Amendments, was contingent on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Also immediately going into effect was a bill passed in 2019 that made it illegal for an abortion to be performed if the sole reason for it was that the unborn child was diagnosed with Down syndrome. 

Per the law in effect, abortions will only be permitted in Utah if:

• It is necessary to avert the death of the woman on whom the abortion is performed.
• There is a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the woman.
• Two physicians who practice maternal fetal medicine concur, in writing, that the fetus has a defect that will prevent its survival outside the womb.
• The woman is pregnant as the result of rape, incest or rape of a child and it has been reported to authorities.

According to the text of the law, a physician who performs an abortion outside of those exemptions would be charged with a second-degree felony that could include one to 15 years in prison, a $10,000 fine and would also lose their licence to practice medicine in Utah. Utah’s law does not penalize a person who has an abortion performed on them.

At the St. George protest, a law enforcement presence of at least three pairs of St. George Police officers kept a close eye on the proceedings, planning to intervene in the event of any confrontation between pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators. 

The evening passed without any organized opposition to the pro-life celebration, though elsewhere in Utah thousands of demonstrators gathered to protest the Supreme Court decision.

Critics of the Supreme Court’s decision cite the vast differences in administration between states, and fear a return to unsafe or impractical abortion procedures for women living in states with restrictive abortion laws.

Planned Parenthood Association of Utah President and CEO Karrie Galloway said in an online statement that the government is deciding what women can do with their bodies. 

“We now have politicians making decisions, critical decisions, about my body, your body. How I will start a family? How I will live life?” Galloway said.

The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition also released a statement critical of Friday’s Supreme Court decision, saying reproductive coercion are tactics used regularly by purveyors of domestic violence on women and victims are also fearful of reporting to authorities, which would be required under the Utah law now in effect.

“All people, including domestic violence survivors, deserve full control over their lives and decisions, including the ability to safely and freely decide whether to become, or stay, pregnant,” the statement reads. “The ability to make decisions about emergency contraception and pregnancy termination, especially in abusive relationships, can be a critical component of finding safety and healing.”

Anti-abortion advocates say they acknowledge the consequences of the state-by-state system, including the opportunity for women to cross state borders to receive medical care unavailable in their home state. Still, they support the ruling as a return to constitutionality rather than a revocation of an existing right.

“I think it’s constitutionally correct to say this was not a federal issue,” Bryant Larsen said. “States have the right to make laws. We anticipate some states become sanctuaries for abortion, and they have the right to do that. We’re hoping to turn hearts so they don’t need to. But it was the right decision, in my opinion, to leave it to the people in each state.”

Moving forward, many of the local anti-abortion demonstrators said there is now a responsibility to care for women and children affected by the new status quo. 

Katherine Larsen and others advocated for donations of time, money and services to crisis pregnancy centers like Hope Pregnancy Care Center. These nonprofits aim to support women with unplanned pregnancies or challenging life circumstances to navigate pregnancy and delivery without resorting to abortion.

Oriahna Perez, a recent St. George transplant of six months, said she was motivated to join the anti-abortion movement by her conscience and it’s her goal now to see women in crisis pregnancies receive help with financial, spiritual and material needs.

“The main thing that I want to see now is everyone to step up,” Perez said. “We’ve gotten what the pro-life movement has wanted for a long time, but now it’s our responsibility to make sure that we’re there for the women, families and children that need us.”

St. George News reporter Chris Reed contributed to this story.

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