'The point is to be disruptive': Roe v. Wade rallies continue in Binghamton

Nearly 200 residents were spread over the lawn across from the downtown Binghamton office of Family Planning of Central New York on Monday in continued protest of a Supreme Court ruling last week that rolled back federal protections for abortion rights.

“I’m terrified, I’m disappointed, I’m frustrated and I’m infuriated,” said Aviva Friedman, a Democrat representing downtown and North Side residents on Binghamton City Council. “But I’m also hopeful, because I know that this community is capable.”

Monday’s rally on Hawley Street marked the third such Binghamton demonstration since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case Friday. A rally in front of the Broome County Courthouse later that evening drew a crowd of more than 300 that blocked traffic at the roundabout for more than an hour, and a similar-sized crowd filled the sidewalk in front of the Binghamton Federal Building on Saturday.

“The point is to be disruptive,” said Salka Valerio, a community organizer with Citizen Action. “They need to know this is not business as usual.”

Valerio and other organizers theorized that the Supreme Court decision, which was initially scheduled for release Thursday, was released Friday instead in order to subdue any mass organized response.

“People shouldn't just be mad on the weekend,” she said. “The government offices are open Monday, and it’s important for them to see us out here. It’s important for people to know we’re not going to stay silent – we’re still angry, we’re still talking about it.”

Binghamton protests not just about Roe v. Wade

Citing a slew of other recent Supreme Court decisions, including one that struck down a New York law that restricted the carrying of concealed firearms and another that held that teachers may lead prayers in public schools under the First Amendment, Binghamton resident Terri Weathers described the ruling concerning abortion as “a march toward fascism.”

“If we let them do things, if we just stay quiet and we just sit down and cry into our pillows at night, that is not going to get anything done,” she said.

As a member of union leadership at her workplace, “I know the real power of when we get together,” Binghamton resident Emily Blakley said. “And I can’t expect people to come together if I’m not going to be one of them.”

Endicott resident Carlie Pierce said the reversal of Roe v. Wade prompted her to reconsider her plans to attend college in Utah this fall, where a so-called “trigger law” has already been enacted, banning abortions outside of cases of rape or incest.

“But at the same time, I want to fight,” she said. “There aren’t enough people to fight this fight.”

Pierce was joined by her friend Jenn Bradley, who traveled from her home in Sayre, Pennsylvania, to attend Monday’s rally because none were planned any closer.

“I thought about starting something myself, but I wouldn’t even know where to start, and I don’t know if I’d get a lot of supporters.”

Concerns about reproductive health, education

Friedman reminded the crowd that reproductive health care is not limited to abortion, nor is it limited to people of reproductive age.

With age comes increased susceptibility to certain types of cancer, Friedman said, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer.

“Politics have a deeper hold on us than just banning abortion,” said Friedman, who has worked as a community educator through Family Planning for six years. “What I’m allowed to say in classrooms depends on what grants are funding my position.”

While former President Donald Trump was in office, Friedman said, she was mostly limited to teaching sexual risk avoidance, a method that can be used to disproportionately promote sexual abstinence as a means of avoiding risk of pregnancy and venereal disease.

“As someone who’s a local elected official, it’s a little out of my hands,” Friedman continued, noting that the widest-reaching legislative decisions are made at the state and federal levels.

She praised legislation proposed by the Ithaca Common Council declaring the Tompkins County seat a sanctuary for those seeking an abortion.

If the measure is passed, the city’s municipal funds cannot be used to persecute someone seeking an abortion, Friedman said, and its officials will be prevented from “cooperating with or providing information” to out-of-state agencies or departments seeking those who have sought refuge there.

Valerio, who also organizes around local housing justice issues and advocates for sexual assault survivors, said she hopes the sustained energy of the local pro-abortion movement will inspire other local residents to join community organizing efforts and shoulder some of the leadership burden.

“It’s tiring,” she said. “It takes a lot of energy to sustain this kind of anger.”

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton Roe v. Wade protests continue near Family Planning