BATAVIA/Local activists would like to see Batavia become a sanctuary city
About 15-20 local activists stood on the corner of West Main street and Holland avenue on Saturday to express their dislike of the NYS Reproductive Health Act.
Some activists were pushing the thought of Batavia as a sanctuary city.
We would all love to see Batavia as the first sanctuary city nationwide, says activist/organizer Ann Maria Scalia.
We would love to shine a light on our little city as a community that defends life.
Others who stood outside the Planned Parenthood location, which was closed for the day, said they were there to let women know there are other options out there.
Mona Doyon of All Babies Cherished in Batavia says that women are not alone when they become pregnant.
Maybe they are homeless, we help them with housing, maybe they need help signing up with WIC or food stamps, we help them advocate for themselves, they take parenting classes, maybe they want to go back to school, they get encouraged when they come in, they have their own mentor, its a great program, says Doyon.
A representative from the Light House Station Maternity Home, located in Warsaw, was across the street from the activists and wanted to let women know there is a place for women and their babies to stay for up to 9 weeks following the birth of their baby.
Light House Station opened in November of 2018 and was 5 years in the making. The Maternity Home is a one of a kind in the GLOW region, with similar homes located in Buffalo and Syracuse.
We feel its one thing to say to a woman, don't have an abortion, and its another thing to say to her let us walk with you and that's what we do, we stand alongside the moms. I'm not here to be political, I'm not here to have an angry voice, I'm here to say let us stand with you, I know its hard, there is nothing harder, so let us support you, says Sarah Sutay of Light House Station.
In response to the activist statements outside of Planned Parenthood, Debora McDell-Hernandez, Senior Director of Public and Community Affairs at Planned Parenthood released this statement in regards to the NYS Reproductive Health Act:
On January 22, 2019, New York State scored a victory for women by safeguarding women’s access to safe and legal abortion with the Reproductive Health Act (RHA). This was necessary since the federal administration continues to attack reproductive health care. RHA accomplishes three important things. RHA recognizes that abortion is health care, not a crime, by moving abortion law from criminal law to public health law where it belongs. RHA brings the protection of Roe v. Wade into state law by ensuring that New Yorkers can access needed care throughout pregnancy when their health or life is endangered, or their pregnancy is not viable.
Finally, RHA clarifies that trained health care providers acting within their scope of practice can provide abortion care. This ensures that more New Yorkers have access to early and safe abortion care.
It is not surprising that those opposed to abortion have chosen to spread misinformation. There is no such thing as abortion during labor and delivery. Any suggestion otherwise is false and downright offensive to women who face pregnancy complications and the medical providers who care for them. It is appalling that in 2019, anti-choice extremists are still trying to shame women about their reproductive health care.