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Pro-Abortion Protesters in New York City Don't Understand What Overturning Roe Actually Entails

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 04, 2022 3:30 PM

Protests broke out on Tuesday following an unprecedented leak of a drafted opinion from the United States Supreme Court indicating that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. 

Right on cue, radical pro-abortion protesters turned out in full force to put their lunacy on public display. This included in New York City, leading "Foley Square" to trend over Twitter on Tuesday night. 

Viral News NY was throughout the day tweeting clips of protesters, though the most ridiculous, took place in Foley Square, as protesters took to screaming. One woman can even be seen holding up a sign indicating it's the "primal scream station."

Of course, the inarticulate protesters and elected officials received a glowing feature from The New York Times. There is one mention that "If the Court follows through and overturns Roe, a number of states would ban abortion immediately or very quickly. But New York’s legislature passed the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, which ensures the right to abortion in the state even if Roe is overturned."

The Times still missed a key component of what a Roe overturn would entail.

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Overturning Roe returns abortion back to the states and their legislatures. In New York, aforementioned, women will continue to have abortion access in that specific state because of a 2019 law signed by then Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). Similarly, all other states will get to decide their own abortion laws. Several states already have "trigger" laws in place to restrict abortion in the event of a Roe overturn.

Further, New York City, where the protest took place, has been known as an abortion capital as far back as before Roe legalized the procedure from coast to coast. The New York Times profiled this in 1971. This includes abortions performed later into pregnancy, which are performed on unborn children who can feel pain and are viable. Viability, meaning they could survive outside of the womb if given proper care. Third-trimester abortions are also particularly dangerous for women. 

In 2016, using data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2013, CNS News' Terrence Jeffrey highlighted how "New York City has become the nation's late-term abortion capital — at least among those jurisdictions that actually report their abortions and do so by gestational age."

He went on to write:

The entire states of New Jersey and Georgia each reported that 705 unborn children at least 21 weeks of age were aborted within their borders in 2013. They led all 39 states that reported their abortions by gestational age. 

But their combined 21-weeks-and-later abortions (1,410) did not equal the 1,752 done in New York City alone. 

This was despite the fact that both New Jersey (8,899,339) and Georgia (9,992,167), according to the Census Bureau, had larger populations in 2013 than New York City (8,405,837).

This was before the 2019 law was signed and went into effect, which made abortion even more accessible in New York. 

The most recent data available from the CDC is from 2019. As I highlighted last November, abortion rates have actually increased nationwide, due to dangerous chemical abortions. New York City reported more abortions than any other reporting area that year, 49,784 of them.

The New York Times report also highlights how New York would continue to advocate for abortion if the Court does in fact rule in such a way, along with how particularly tone-deaf Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is, with references to the Statue of Liberty and the suffragists. It's worth mentioning that the suffragists were actually pro-life:

Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York’s first female governor, said at a rally in Albany Tuesday evening that the fight for equality was in the state’s DNA, dating back to the suffragist movement.

“The Statue of Liberty stands in our harbor, reaching out her hand to all those who are oppressed,” said Ms. Hochul. “If you live in a state where they are willing to strip away your rights, then you are also among the oppressed.”

She added: “You come to New York. This is your safe harbor. Come to our state and we’ll take care of you.”

The Manhattan borough president, Mark Levine, said at the rally in Foley Square that New York needed to continue being a national leader on the issue.

“We need to make it clear that we welcome with open arms anyone from around the country,” said Mr. Levine. “It should be free here and we should facilitate transportation here for anyone who wants to pay for it.”

As Madeline has reported, California, under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, also looks to be similarly pro-abortion. Even before such a leak went out on Monday night, Newsom has been preparing to make the state as pro-abortion as possible, forming councils and declaring his aim for California to be a "sanctuary" for abortion. 

There was no mention of pro-life perspectives in the report from The New York Times. Students for Life of America (SFLA) has mobilized students to make their voices heard, including at the U.S. Supreme Court. As Julio reported earlier on Wednesday, pro-abortion advocates have been reacting with anger and violence.