There's a chance that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's voice could be heard in Salt Lake today, even though she is medically unable to travel from Texas.
Organizers of a protest against the war in Iraq were working Tuesday to connect Sheehan through a live video link to the rally scheduled for 11 a.m. at Washington Square.
Sheehan is under doctor's orders not to travel because of a longer-than-expected recovery time from a hysterectomy she underwent last Tuesday, her spokeswoman Tiffany Burns said.
"She's incredibly sad she is not going to be there but is in good spirits generally," Burns said. "She is really happy the peace community is planning to go forward with this event."
Sheehan had planned to attend the rally but was rehospitalized Sunday, Burns said. Sheehan was released later the same day but is not well enough to travel, Burns said.
Crystal Young-Otterstrom, a protest organizer for People for Peace and Justice, said organizers would work on a possible video or voice link to Sheehan up to the last minute, if possible.
She stressed the event will go on, with or without the link, with Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson as the main speaker.
"It's still going to be a really good event," she said. "It will still have the same impact."
Young-Otterstrom said she'd still like to see Sheehan visit Utah but will wait until she's fully recovered to look at possible events. Meanwhile, Young-Otterstrom is still expecting today's rally to be Salt Lake City's largest anti-war rally to date.
"The movement of people who disagree, who dissent is growing," she said. "It's not just Salt Lake City, it's the whole state."
A call to Mayor Rocky Anderson's office seeking comment wasn't returned.
Sheehan, whose son Casey Sheehan was killed in Iraq in 2004, has been in Texas this month to protest outside of President Bush's Crawford Ranch while he vacationed there.
E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com