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Reproductive justice, health, and rights advocates led the NYC march across the Brooklyn Bridge and engaged abortion access supporters to take action both in person and with a new virtual landing page

 

NEW YORK — Today, tens of thousands of people, outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade, marched across the Brooklyn Bridge as part of a nationwide “Bans Off Our Bodies” day of action.

Energized supporters for abortion access and reproductive justice crowded Cadman Plaza with signs, banners, and flags in a display of opposition to harmful abortion bans. In the style of Latin American “Cacerolazo” protests with pots, pans, and noisemakers, marchers shut down the Brooklyn Bridge as they crossed from Downtown Brooklyn into Lower Manhattan. The march culminated in Foley Square where local reproductive health care, rights, and justice organizations hosted a Welcome Village featuring calls to action, powerful performances, food trucks offering free lunch, art installations, and information booths.

The organizations on site at the Welcome Village plugged in abortion supporters to learn about how they can protect abortion access in New York and provide practical support for those seeking care in states across the country. The coalition also launched a virtual counterpart to the in-person Welcome Village, bansoffnyc.com — a new web page where visitors can connect with organizations to receive practical support guidance long after Saturday’s Bans Off OUr Bodies mobilization.

Keeping the focus on advocates in the reproductive justice movement, the mass mobilization centered the voices of those who could speak to where abortion access intersects with racial, economic, disability, and healthcare justice. Event organizers included Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, PPGNY Action Fund, Abortion Access Front, Jahajee Sisters, Girls for Gender Equity, New York Civil Liberties Union, The Latina Institute New York, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Thank God for Abortion, National Institute for Reproductive Health, New York Abortion Access Fund, and Malikah.

Bans Off Our Bodies NYC reaffirmed New Yorkers' demand for a future where abortion is accessible, affordable, and dignified for everyone.

“Today the world witnessed the power behind the fight for abortion justice. And this is only the beginning. We refuse to sit idly by while the Supreme Court and narrow-minded politicians deny us our right to full bodily autonomy — which will always include the right to decide our own reproductive futures,” said Joy D. Calloway, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York and PPGNY Action Fund. “Abortion bans fail families who struggle to make ends meet. Abortion bans neglect the humanity of transgender and nonbinary people. Abortion bans perpetuate centuries of racism that continue to oppress Black women and all communities of color today. We will achieve true justice only when we crush these systems and ensure that everyone has equitable, affordable access to life-saving health care. Abortion is health care. Planned Parenthood is proud to be part of a network of essential health care providers and fierce advocates that are committed to shaping a future where abortion and the full range of sexual and reproductive are available to all.”

“As federal protection for reproductive rights vanishes, New York will again be a beacon for people who need abortion care, including women, young people, transgender, and gender non-conforming people. Our state first opened its doors to abortion care five decades ago, and three years before the Court decided Roe. In New York today the Reproductive Health Act protects abortion in our public health law, but this is not enough. New York must do more to be a leader and an access state. The NYCLU will work tirelessly to ensure New York protects abortion care in our state constitution, delivers funding needed to access care, and that anyone needing care can get it right here in New York,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.”

“Abortion access is inextricably linked to the full spectrum of our lives, and any ban or barriers to that access only exacerbates negative impacts on already marginalized communities,” said Elizabeth Estrada, New York Field and Advocacy Manager at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “The Jackson case is part of a coordinated series of attacks on abortion access and all of our reproductive rights by anti-abortion politicians. If this opinion is the final decision, even more people across the country will soon be forced to travel hundreds of miles out of state or remain pregnant against their will. Many will likely be traveling to New York for care. Therefore, New York must remain an access state for abortion. We must urge our New York state lawmakers to invest in access via the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Fund, and we must empower New Yorkers to fund and pay for abortion care on their state taxes by passing the New York State Abortion Access Fund to help ensure folks traveling to New York get the care they need with dignity. The Latina Institute and all our partners will keep fighting for a world in which everyone can access the full spectrum of reproductive care and self-determine what they do with their and our bodies as we best see fit for ourselves and our families.”

“For too long those in power have sought to claim power over Black cis and trans and gender non-conforming people’s bodies,” said Michelle Grier, Chief Program Officer at Girls for Gender Equity (GGE). “Our Black feminist teachers in reproductive justice have always known that Roe was never enough. We come together today demanding that we actively begin to build a future in which every person has self-determination and full bodily autonomy. We march today to say reproductive rights are human rights.”

“The potential rollback of Roe v. Wade is truly devastating and holds dire consequences for the future of our bodily autonomy in this country, especially for low-income persons, communities of color, indigenous communities, and immigrant communities,” said Nimmi Penmatsa, member of National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum NYC. “AAPI people who can get pregnant face barriers including a huge information divide when it comes to accessing services like abortion care. We are often faced with language barriers, cultural stigmas, and low rates of insurance coverage. As a South Asian woman, I can tell you from personal experience how much young adults in my community struggle to get the proper information and access they need because of the cultural stigma around abortions. We have no one to turn to when faced with needing abortion care because we risk being ostracized by the community. Organizations that work to provide information, education, resources, and abortion care, particularly in-language, are so important so that the most vulnerable people in our community have somewhere to go that is safe. Ultimately, healthcare and more importantly reproductive health care is a right; and a right is only a right if everyone is able to access it. We must fight to ensure that we expand access to abortion without any legal, financial, or language barriers.”

“As the New York Abortion Access Fund, our volunteer collective and case managers provide direct financial support every day to people facing barriers to abortion,” said leaders of the New York Abortion Access Fund. We know the people who are most impacted by cruel decisions like the Supreme Court’s draft opinion, are people already facing barriers to abortion access. This includes people with low incomes, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, trans and nonbinary folks, people with disabilities, undocumented people, domestic violence survivors, sex workers, and young people. NYAAF supports anyone who reaches out to us. With our community’s support, we can meet 100% of need, without turning anyone away from lack of funds. We need our community now to boldly support abortion funds, who work on the ground every day to support people facing barriers to getting an abortion. Please support today at nyaaf.org/donate. We do this work because we are the ones who take care of us. We believe that justice emerges when we have what we need to live with dignity. When the Supreme Court fails us, we take care of us. We got us.”

"As descendants of indentured, Indo-Caribbeans, we know what it is like to have white men control our bodies, our lives,” said Shivana Jorawar and Simone Jhingoor, Co-Directors of Jahajee Sisters. “Abortion access is key to making sure WE are the ONLY ones who control our destinies. Abortion bans have always targeted, and fall hardest on, women of color and low-income people. They are meant to keep people like us powerless and in 'our place'. Abortion bans are racial violence. They are gender-based violence. Abortion bans are class warfare.”

“Thank God for Abortion has lately been inundated with messages from good people that have been jolted awake into the horror of what abortion bans have always been,” said Viva Ruiz, Founder of Thank God for Abortion. “We welcome them to the movement and are glad to take every opportunity to point them towards who need our support the most: people who need abortions and people who provide them. We encourage white people to welcome the leadership of BIPOC people who have always been at the forefront of this work. If we center the people most impacted by abortion bans, we will not lose. We welcome you to mass mobilize, to agitate, and motivate because a “sleeping majority” is as complicit as the right. Join us in the streets, wear green to align with the massive Latin American abortion justice movement the Green Wave / La Ola Verde, and make noise.”

“There is no abortion debate. There are those who understand it is a fundamental human right,  a moral choice one might make during pregnancy, and that it should be defended at all costs — and those who are invested in the comforts of patriarchy and need to end abortion to keep their systems of oppression running,” says Lizz Winstead, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Abortion Access Front. “No matter what the Supreme Court throws at us, Abortion Access Front will continue our work helping folks access safe abortion, defending those who provide it and shining a light on the forces of supremacy fighting to destroy the freedoms that come with unfettered access to it. Knowing that it is the most marginalized communities who are affected the most by losing access to abortion care, we all need to commit the resources available to us, to demand not only that abortion remains legal, but that it is expanded to be more accessible and without financial or emotional barriers.” 

“The leaked memo last week showed the urgent need for us to ensure people, especially Black, indigenous, people of color, and people working to make ends meet are able to get the abortion care that they need whenever they need it,” said Sharmin Hossain, Campaign Director at Liberate Abortion. “Liberated abortion looks like abortion access that is equitable and available for all of us when we need it, wherever we need it, without shame or stigma. But ensuring abortion access goes far beyond voting and waiting on court cases; abortion rights are meaningless without funded clinics in our communities, widely accessible medication, and other means of giving individuals the autonomy of decision-making that all human beings deserve. We need more than Roe. We need liberated abortion access that not only fights to protect against illegality, but to make sure that abortion is accessible, that clinics are well-funded, and that people are able to be trusted to make their own pregnancy decisions.”

“We at the New Pride Agenda want to make clear that the attack on bodily autonomy and the right to privacy reaches across the gender spectrum, also impacting trans and nonbinary individuals,” said Elisa Crespo, Executive Director of the New Pride Agenda. “All of our rights are under attack by this same group of people with the same agenda, from attacks on abortion access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth. All of it is being targeted, and in fact, the Supreme Court draft indicates the very real intention to come after other enumerated rights around privacy, including the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges. We also know that statehouses across the country have introduced more than 200 anti-LGBTQ bills and more than 100 pieces of legislation that specifically target transgender youth. All of this is interconnected, making this a pivotal moment for all marginalized and impacted communities. We must unite behind our intersectional struggles and leave no one behind. We at the New Pride Agenda say protect trans youth and bans off of our bodies.”

“The leak of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is not final — but it is nonetheless despicable and confirms our worst fears: that a majority of justices are willing to place anti-abortion zealotry above the health, well-being, and bodily autonomy of people across this country,” said Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) and the NIRH Action Fund. “If the Court overturns Roe, then we know what will happen — nearly half the states will move to ban abortion, pushing abortion care out of reach for people across wide swaths of the country, especially the South and Midwest. This opinion is a call to action to every activist, advocate, provider, and elected official to protect access to abortion care in every way possible. NIRH and the NIRH Action Fund will fight like hell to pass protective laws in every city and state we can — and we stand with thousands of New Yorkers in righteous rage today.”

"As an empowerment self-defense organization, we know it is key that we defend our bodily autonomy not just from physical attacks but legal and systematic ones as well,” said Deena Hadhoud, Program and Operations Manager at Malikah. “This attack on reproductive freedom is an attack on all people who are able to get pregnant and will disproportionately impact Black and brown people, immigrants, women, low-income folks, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. As a Muslim and SWANA-led organization, we know that our communities already face barriers to care including but not limited to immigration status, stigma and lack of sex education, low income, transportation access, etc.  If we want to build a more just world - a world where we can thrive, step into our power, and build safety within our communities - we need to continue to demand bodily autonomy and self-determination for our people. This is a scary time for the people we serve, but seeing thousands march for our freedom today brought so much hope.”

“UFT members are marching today because every right we have won has been through collective action,” said Janella Hinds, Vice President for Academic High Schools of United Federation of Teachers. “Reproductive justice for working people is essential to our civil rights and UFT is joining Labor for today’s march to make our voices heard in this struggle.”

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Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is a leading provider, educator, and advocate of sexual and reproductive health care in New York State. PPGNY offers a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services at its 23 health centers across 65% of New York State. PPGNY is a trusted source of medically accurate, evidence-based information that allows people to make informed decisions about their health and future. As a voice for reproductive freedom, PPGNY supports legislation and policies that ensure all New Yorkers have access to the full range of reproductive health services and education.

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