Politicians, Activists, Citizens Gather At Courthouse To Rally For Reproductive Rights - 27 East
logo logo logo logo

Sag Harbor Express

East Hampton Press / News / Government / Health / Government / Health / News / Southampton Press / Government / News / Sag Harbor Express / 1987003

Politicians, Activists, Citizens Gather At Courthouse To Rally For Reproductive Rights

icon 10 Photos
Bridget Fleming was one of several politicians and activists who spoke at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Bridget Fleming was one of several politicians and activists who spoke at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic had a strong presence at the rally.

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic had a strong presence at the rally.

Protesters at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters at the rally for reproductive rights in Riverhead last week. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

Protesters brought homemade signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It was a diverse crowd, with people of all ages, including many who brought their young children with them. CAILIN RILEY PHOTOS

authorCailin Riley on Jul 4, 2022

Abortion rights advocates gathered outside and on the steps of the Suffolk County Supreme Court building in Riverhead on Wednesday, June 29, for a rally for women’s rights.

The rally, originally scheduled for two days earlier but postponed due to rain, was organized in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which struck down the landmark 1973 decision Roe v. Wade that guaranteed a federally protected right to abortion.

As a result of the Dobbs ruling, there is now a near total ban on abortion in some states — for the first time in 50 years — with similar bans expected in even more states in the coming weeks.

Representatives from Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, local lawmakers from the towns of Southold, Southampton and East Hampton, and activists and women’s rights groups were on hand, sharing personal stories and encouraging people to stay energized and politically engaged.

Other guest speakers included Democratic State Senate candidate Skyler Johnson and Democratic congressional candidate and current Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming.

While the majority of people in the crowd were women, there were several men on hand, and women of all ages, including those who had marched and protested for reproductive rights in the days before Roe v. Wade and find themselves doing so again.

There were many mothers on hand as well, in attendance with their children, as well as several teens and young adults.

You May Also Like:

The New Standard

The editorial dunce cap for “creeping authoritarianism” [“Gold Stars and Dunce Caps,” Editorial, July 3] awarded to the president for his anger at the deliberate leak of a premature intelligence assessment by an individual acting solely out of malice in an attempt to discredit the administration’s recent outstanding U.S. military action in Iran: It certainly was in stark contrast to Joe Biden’s management of our withdrawal from Afghanistan that cost 13 Marines their lives and bore witness to an America that no longer would be held in respect for its ability to project power. The leak was a political stunt ... 6 Jul 2025 by Staff Writer

See the Reality

Magic acts are based on illusion and distraction. The audience is looking at the fancy handwork while things appear and disappear. Just so have the MAGA Republicans fooled the majority of their base. Being woke is the distraction — women who have abortions, people who are transgender, or gay, or pro-Palestinian, or illegal immigrants, or whatever else are the root of our problems. Mired in economic despair, people are somehow made to feel that massively wealthy people are their kin, not immigrants desperate for food and a roof over their heads. Here in the Hamptons, as in the bowels of ... by Staff Writer

Dodged a Bullet

After reading John Avlon’s “Viewpoint” [“Frustrated? Here Are Three Things You Can Do,” Opinion, July 3], Suffolk County was so right in not electing a candidate who projects misery, because the American voters see things differently than he does. Democrats seem to think democracy only works if they win — otherwise, its called fascism. John, you and the Democratic Party are not victims. The Democratic Party is dead in America. The fact that the Democratic Party elected a communist in New York City to represent the party is the cherry on top. America is not about free stuff — it’s ... by Staff Writer

In Search of a Lyme Vaccine

Three decades ago, after writing about people undergoing severe cases of Lyme disease in Suffolk County, I chose to get shots of a vaccine that had just become available designed to prevent the disease happening after a bite of a Lyme-carrying tick. It was 1998, and what was called LYMErix was introduced that year to counter Lyme disease. I went to our family physician, Dr. Daniel Lessner in Sag Harbor, since retired, for a series of three vaccinations. There were no side effects. Making a judgment on a negative is problematic, but in following years, although bitten by ticks, I ... by Karl Grossman

'We Are All Jews Here'

Some of you may have noticed that often a “Road Yet Taken” column is tied to an anniversary. Not this time — for two reasons. One is, because of all the political divisiveness and especially antisemitism going around, I decided it was time to tell the story of someone who inspires us to be better people. Two: This is a salute to the folks who, Sunday after Sunday, in all kinds of weather, gather at the windmill in Sag Harbor to protest the violence in Gaza. Recently, a group supporting Israel has been having its own protest a few feet ... by Tom Clavin

Born in The Hamptons, 'Jaws' Turns 50

It is the summer of “Jaws,” and many are wondering whether 50 years is long ... 5 Jul 2025 by Michael Wright

East End Historical Societies and Museums Join Forces for Long Island History Hunt

Long Island museums and historical societies have teamed up to host the Long Island History ... 4 Jul 2025 by Dan Stark

Elyce Arons Discusses Friendship, Mental Health, and Her New Book, 'We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship With Kate Spade'

Elyce Arons met Kate Spade when the two were just 18 years old, both freshmen ... 3 Jul 2025 by Hope Hamilton

Sag Harbor Village Police Reports for the Week of July 3

SAG HARBOR VILLAGE — Village Police arrested Kherly C. Rivadeneira Juela, 26, of Hampton Bays at about 6 a.m. last Thursday on misdemeanor DWI charges after an officer said he found her sleeping behind the wheel of a 2020 BMW on the side of the road on Main Street, engine off. The officer reported rapping on the window several times, until Rivadeneira Juela woke up. According to police, at that point, Rivadeneira Juela started the engine. The officer spoke with Rivadeneira Juela, whom he said in his report, “was not making sense.” She appeared intoxicated and failed sobriety tests, police ... 2 Jul 2025 by Staff Writer

County Warns of Stepped-Up DWI Enforcement for Summer, Encourages Drivers To Take Ride Shares When Drinking

Suffolk County Sherriff Erron Toulon and County Executive Ed Romaine warned drivers this week that the county will be rolling out a new anti-DWI campaign that will feature stepped-up enforcement of drinking and driving laws and public outreach to discourage drunk driving. The sheriff’s office said that the county will step up patrols focusing on DWI enforcement and on-road sobriety checkpoints throughout the county, starting this coming weekend and continuing throughout the summer. Toulon said his office’s STOP DWI unit is on pace to break a record number of DWI arrests this year and encouraged young adults to turn to ... by Staff Writer