Ithacans rally to protest Supreme Court vote to overturn Roe v. Wade
After a draft opinion of a Supreme Court vote to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public, more than 100 people gathered on the Ithaca Commons Bernie Milton Pavilion late Tuesday afternoon to rally for abortion rights.
A large pink banner stretched across the Bernie Milton Pavilion with words reading "I Stand With Planned Parenthood." Those same words appeared on signs of several residents who attended the protest on a 70-degree humid, overcast day.
Other signs read, "Protect safe, legal abortion".
While New York state has laws in place to sustain abortion rights in the event Roe v. Wade is officially overturned, community members joined to protest the Supreme Court's leaked draft.
"We are going to let the Supreme Court know we are not going to take this..." said Colin Benedict, an organizer for Planned Parenthood. Benedict also spoke of the disparate impact the potential overturning decision would have on Black, Latinx, indigenous and low income people.
Several groups from throughout the community attended the event, including organizations for democratic action, Ithaca College and Cornell students, patients, advocates and other elected officials.
Multiple motorists on Seneca Street honked as they drove by the rally. Protesters chanted phrases, which included "Bans off our bodies" and impassioned call and responses like "Abortion is a human right. Fight, fight, fight!"
More: Explosive leaked draft in abortion case reveals Supreme Court on verge of overturning Roe
If Roe v. Wade is overturned: What we know about Supreme Court's leaked draft
The organizers emphasized the importance of exercising collective power, pointing to the recent unionizations at the Ithaca Starbucks as an example.
Linda Hoffman and Sue Perlgut, two members of the group End Abortion Stigma went to the pavilion.
Perlgut held a blown up copy of "'We Are Women Who Came of Age Before Roe v. Wade,'" an opinion letter the group wrote to the New York Times in September. Hoffman read the letter to the crowd.
"We are on a precipice, on an edge ..." Hoffman said prior to reading the letter. "We are in a dark age — a regression of our reproductive rights."
Perlgut then spoke of her experience receiving an abortion in 1965.
"Today we all absorbed the blow of the leaked draft opinion that took our dignity, forcing abortions into back alleys ..." said State Senate Candidate Leslie Danks Burke. "They will never, ever take us down."
She further emphasized the importance of political involvement, exercising the right to vote and to hold elected officials accountable in their advocacy for reproductive rights.
Another rally is to take place on the pavilion on May 14 from 2 to 4 p.m.
More: The only library in the world with the written works of all Dalai Lamas is in Ithaca, NY
Follow Matt Steecker on Twitter @OnTheStecord. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Ithacans rally to protest Supreme Court vote to overturn Roe v. Wade
