Dems bash court's Roe v. Wade ruling

Democratic officials throughout Nassau County and New York expressed their displeasure and concerns following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday. 

Hundreds gathered at the Nassau County Courthouse to protest the decision.

The Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the Constitution does not grant a right to abortion, reversing nearly 50 years where Roe permitted abortions during the first two trimesters of pregnancy in the United States.

State Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillitti (D-Port Washington) said the Supreme Court has left abortion in the hands of state legislatures that want to control women.

“With this draconian Supreme Court decision, the courts have said women don’t get to decide what happens with our own bodies. We don’t get to decide whether we live or die,” Sillitti said in a statement. “We don’t get to decide whether to have a heartbreaking miscarriage naturally or allow a doctor to intervene sparing excruciating pain.”

Kevan Abrahams, head of the Nassau County Legislature’s minority caucus said the ramifications will be enormous, while state Sen. Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills) said the country has taken a step back as a result of the court’s decision.

“The public health ramifications of this ruling will be enormous, especially for economically disadvantaged women who already struggle with access to healthcare,” Abrahams said in a statement. “If we are to stop the backward slide that we are now witnessing in our nation, we must organize, mobilize, and vote – because our freedom and personal liberty are at the top of the ballot.”

“This is the America that radical Republican extremists have been relentlessly pushing towards for decades: a country where guns have more rights than people do,” Kaplan said. “A country where women will die in back alleys, and children will die in classrooms. A country where same-sex couples will have their marriage licenses torn to pieces.”

The division gives individual states the choice of banning or allowing abortions. New York’s abortion laws remain unchanged and will remain legal after the Supreme Court’s decision, Governor Kathy Hochul reiterated Friday.

“Today the Supreme Court rolled back the rights of millions of Americans, disregarding their interests and — more importantly — their lives,” Hochul said. “Access to abortion is a fundamental human right, and it remains safe, accessible, and legal in New York.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who is running for the Democratic primary for governor, said he will work to keep New York safe. 

“I have a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood and I will continue to work to ensure that New York remains a model for safe, legal and accessible abortions,” Suozzi said in a statement. “We should also seek to make New York a model for reducing unplanned pregnancies by promoting education and contraception.”

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who is running for the Republican primary for governor, lauded the court’s decision and said New York needs to do more to defend life. 

“In a state that has legalized late-term partial-birth abortion and non-doctors performing abortion, in a state that refuses to advance informed consent and parental consent, and where not enough is being done to promote adoption and support mothers, today is yet another reminder that New York clearly needs to do a much better job to promote, respect and defend life,” Zeldin said.

Candidates for New York’s 3rd Congressional District, to replace Suozzi in Congress, also joined in reactions to the landmark decision. 

“In Dobbs, the Supreme Court acted correctly by letting the people of New York decide,” Republican candidate George Santos tweeted. “There was bipartisan criticism of the Constitutionality of the Roe v. Wade decision, including from the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Now the State of New York must govern and legislate based upon the will of the people, as the Tenth Amendment outlines.”

Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan said the decision is an assault on reproductive rights and Port Washington progressive activist Melanie D’Arrigo said her “rage is incalculable.”

“In New York, we are fortunate that abortions are safe and legal, but this decision by the Supreme Court has endangered the lives of tens of millions of women across our country,” Lafazan said. “We can’t sit by as this fundamental right is taken away – now is the time for action.”

“This is a heavy day. For the millions of people who will now lose access to their critical right to an abortion, my sorrow is profound and my rage is incalculable,” D’Arrigo tweeted. “The supreme court’s 6-3 conservative bend is a result of dark money buying the votes of our politicians and the judgment of our courts. Our rights were sold.”

Great Neck’s Robert Zimmerman released a statement saying the Supreme Court is “willing to advance an extremist conservative ideology.”

“This abhorrent decision represents a devastating development for women’s rights. Being able to make decisions about one’s body is a fundamental human right—it is the precondition to controlling one’s life entirely,” Zimmerman said.

Former Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman also condemned the court’s decision, describing it as “an unconscionable assault” on women’s rights.

“We must act to protect all those who seek reproductive care,” Kaiman said in a statement. “We must provide resources for those who live in states where their rights are no longer guaranteed. We must enact federal legislative protection for abortion rights.”

Northwell Health, the state’s largest health care provider, joined in speaking against the decision.

“Northwell Health is disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, which made access to safe and legal abortion a constitutional right for five decades,” the statement read. “This decision is a setback for women’s reproductive health. Our concern as the region’s largest health care provider is that this ruling will succeed in ending access to safe abortions and disproportionately cause harm to those who already have limited access to health care. ”