ANTON MEDIA GROUP • MAY 18 - 24, 2022
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Roe Overturned?
Local pols weigh in on national issue JOSEPH SCOTCHIE jscotchie@antonmediagroup.com
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ast week, the media became inflamed with news of a leaked Supreme Court majority opinion draft overturning the 1973 Roe vs. Wade abortion decision. Local politicians, as you might guess, rushed into cyberspace to express their opinions. In the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health case, the court is expected to decide in June on the constitutionality of Roe. Politicians aren’t waiting until then. Reaction came in swiftly from the top down. “I am horrified by the apparent draft Supreme Court opinion leaked this evening that would overturn the right to abortion guaranteed by Roe vs. Wade,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “For the sake of women across the country, this should not be the Supreme Court’s final opinion when it comes to abortion rights.
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(CC BY-SA 4.0)
(Source: Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)
“We have been fighting this battle for too long. I refuse to go backwards. I refuse to let my new granddaughter have to fight for the rights generations have fought for and won, rights that she should be guaranteed. She added, “For anyone who needs access to care, our state will welcome you with open arms. New York will always be a place where abortion rights are protected
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New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Governor Kathy Hochul
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and where abortion is safe and accessible. Just as the Statue of Liberty lifts her lamp tall in our harbor, New York will never stop fighting for what’s right — unafraid and undeterred.” Senator Charles Schumer, who is that body’s majority leader, quickly announced plans to hold a vote on codifying Roe if indeed it is overturned. He called the leak as revealing a “dark and disturbing
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito (Photo by JoshEllie1234/ CC BY-SA 4.0)
day for America.” His senate counterpart, Senator Mitch McConnell, criticized the leak for happening at all. “I think the story today is an effort by someone on the inside to discredit the institution of the [Supreme Court,] which continues a pattern that we’ve observed over the last couple years,” he told members of the Washington press corps. McConnell would not
speculate on the impact of any final decision. “All of this puts the cart before the horse,” he said. “The leaked draft majority opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade reveals that the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority is poised to destroy the fundamental human and reproductive rights of millions of women, willfully disregarding public opinion and court precedent. While we can hold out hope for revisions, we cannot wait to act,” read a statement by U.S. Senator Kristin Gillibrand (D—NY). It continued, “At the federal level, Congress must enshrine into law the right to an abortion and Democrats must be willing to eliminate the filibuster to do so. As we approach the midterm elections, it is absolutely critical that Democrats turn out in record numbers to maintain our majorities. The American people do not support the government interfering with what people do with their own bodies.
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