Well over 100 demonstrators gathered at the Historic Cache County Courthouse for a rally in defense of abortion rights and Roe v. Wade over the weekend.
On Saturday, a crowd gathered at the steps of the courthouse to hear from a round of speakers in support of abortion rights. The group then participated in a southbound march to Center Street while displaying signs and reciting rally chants.
For Karel Dimalanta, a rally organizer and board member of the Logan Pride Foundation, the turnout was “very encouraging” and may bode well for local access to resources in the future.
“We thought it was going to be small,” Dimalanta said, explaining the crowd was nearly double of what was anticipated.
Part of Planned Parenthood’s “Bans Off Our Bodies” rallies, the event was organized by members and affiliates of the Logan Pride. Saturday’s demonstration was similar to others held in Utah and other states after a recently leaked draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court indicated the court may vote to overturn Roe v. Wade affecting the right to abortion.
“I know we’re trying to be positive here but if we really look at the reality, things are mostly likely not going to be great,” Nicole Burnard told the crowd on Saturday. “Take a moment to feel that, because it’s really sad and it makes me angry.”
Burnard — a community advocate, social worker and master’s student at Utah State University’s social work department — was one of several speakers at the rally. Burnard told the crowd on Saturday of plans to start a local advocacy coalition to help provide access to safe abortion and reproductive health care for vulnerable community members.
“Even if it means helping them get out of state,” Burnard told the crowd.
For Burnard, a key part of social work involves community advocacy and providing access to services for community members in need.
“So when I saw Karel’s post about this rally, I immediately thought, ‘Okay, we need to organize a group of community members who can support if things don’t go the way we want them to go,’” Burnard said.
Despite concern for the future, Burnard too was encouraged by the rally’s turnout.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so wonderful,” Burnard said. “So fantastic. It makes me almost get emotional. It’s not easy coming out and vocalizing your opinions when you’re in the minority group.”
For Ana Liquin, a member of Logan Pride’s outreach committee and an organizer the rally, the impact of an active local community is often overlooked.
“The only way that we can make a difference is starting within our community,” Liquin said. “We need to make sure that we put in the right people in office that will represent the best interest of our community. And the best interest of our community isn’t just religious, right? It’s also about involving everybody and giving them the choice to make a choice for themselves.”
Dimalanta said the issue is appropriately “emotionally charged,” but it boils down to personal choices of one’s body.
“It really is a decision that takes a lot of time and, honestly, there’s a lot of emotional baggage that comes with it after. So, it’s understandable why people would be afraid to go and seek having an abortion,” Liquin said. “But we cannot live in a state where fear is dictating our decisions. And we cannot live in a state where we have people in power who don’t understand what really happens and goes on in a woman’s body… They’ve been taught and raised, because of their religion, to believe in a certain way. Which is fine, we just cannot impose our own beliefs on someone else.”
For more information about the coalition, email nicoleburnardlmt@gmail.com or karel@loganpride.org.