The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective have determined that Utah ranks 43rd out of 50 when it comes to 25 different laws from abortion bans to outlawing gay marriages, according to the groups’ “Mapping Our Rights” Web site which debuted Wednesday, May 31.
Utah earned slot 43 by its tally of “penalty” points assigned by the groups to laws they feel limit an individual’s right to choose who to marry, when to have children or access to certain types of health care. The higher number of points the worse the ranking.
Utah received points for state laws mandating counseling before abortion, a waiting period before an abortion and parental involvement in minors’ abortions as well as a lack of hate-crime laws for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people, a ban on gay marriages, and an abstinence-only education policy in school, among other items.
Of course opponents to gay rights and abortion were pleased with the ranking:
But Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Eagle Forum, an anti-abortion group in Utah, said of the state’s low ranking, “Good for us.”
“I am certainly disappointed that we didn’t make 50,” she said.
Jane Marquardt, the board chair of Equality Utah, says that she has seen positive changes in the past 25 years as more gay people have become more open and things such as domestic partner benefits have come to light in the political arena. She pointed out that the Utah legislature has two gay members and that the whole country will experience a shift in its openness towards gay issues.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 