Syracuse, N.Y. — Hundreds of people came together Tuesday night for an abortion and reproductive rights rally in front of the James M. Hanley Federal Building in Syracuse.
The rally was organized by Women’s March Syracuse after a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade was leaked Monday. The landmark 1973 case legalized abortion nationwide.
Related article: What overturning Roe v. Wade would mean for New York abortion access
Nodesia Hernandez, a key organizer for Women’s March Syracuse, talked about the harm this potential decision, which could become official in late June or early July, could have on all women.
“Overturning Roe won’t mean that abortion will end,” she said. “It means that safe and sound abortions in health care facilities will move further out of our reach. Poor and working-class women who without access to abortion will lose their rights and ability to control their own destiny.”
The opinion, on a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks and being debated by the court, is written by Justice Samuel Alito, according to Politico, which obtained and published the draft Monday.
After oral arguments in the Mississippi case were held in December, four other justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — voted along with Alito indicating they would uphold the law, meaning a majority of the court would voted to overturn abortion rights.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes in the draft, referring to the landmark ruling and the 1992 case affirming the right to an abortion. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
In a statement late Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to protect reproductive rights in New York, saying she was “horrified” by the implications of the court’s leaked draft.
Hochul attended a Planned Parenthood rally Tuesday night in Albany’s West Capitol Park. It was held simultaneously with the rally in Syracuse.
“Let me be clear: we’re not playing defense, we’re playing offense,” she said. “So my message to women all across this country is that New York, the State of New York, will always be there for anyone who needs reproductive healthcare, including an abortion.”
Hillary Warner, a representative from Planned Parenthood, spoke at Tuesday’s rally in Syracuse about the long-term effects of the potential overturning or Roe.
“This outcome is as dangerous as it is unprecedented,” she said. “And it will open the flood gates for states across the country to ban abortion. This was not the end goal for the anti-abortion movement. Generations before us have fought tirelessly to gain and protect the rights we have today. Planned Parenthood will not back down. We are in a fight to make sure everyone has the power to control their own lives, bodies and futures.”
Syracuse resident Susan Phillips, 30, said she was scared for women everywhere after she heard about the potential overturning of Roe.
“Nobody’s body should be policy,” she said. “I was absolutely angry. I was very angry, thinking about the people who don’t have access or other options. I was angry and I was sad, and I was scared.”
Another protester, Mary Cunningham, 77, of Syracuse, said she has been fighting for reproductive rights for as long as she could remember.
“It’s infuriating and heartbreaking to think that all these young women and all these families, that we are letting other people take away the choices and rights that we have had for 50 years,” she said. “We are just going backwards. To say women don’t have a right to their body, it’s so detrimental to democracy.”
Hernandez said Tuesday’s rally — which featured speakers Mary Kuhn, a county legislator from DeWitt, and Dana Balter, a former Democratic nominee for the 24th Congressional District — had a primary goal of educating people about what was happening in the country.
“We need elected officials who are not afraid to stand up for our rights,” she said. “Defend our rights.”
Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.