Hundreds Gather In Westport To Support Right To Choose
Protesters joined by Governor Lamont, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes At the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Memorial Bridge on Mother's Day
A large rally was held in downtown Westport on Sunday to protest Politico's release of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion written by one of the most conservative justices. Just before the announced start time of 4:00 PM there were fewer than 40 or 50 supporters of women's reproductive rights but scarcely 20 minutes later the crowd numbered into the hundreds.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
There was a large media presence including Channel 12 and also NBC News New York. On Monday's Meet The Press Daily on MSNBC a 17 second film clip ran in a four frame split screen, showing the Westport event along with protests in Houston, Chicago and Washington DC. Additionally there was a large but low key police presence including a Norwalk PD Unit.
The crowd on the bridge was greeted by car horns honking their support as well as thumbs-ups and clenched fists. The occasional disdainful look accompanied the largely supportive line of passing traffic.
Pictured from Left to Right: Dr. Shieva Ghofreni, State Senator Matthew Blumenthal, Dr. Janet Lefkowitz, organizer Darcy Hicks, Trumbull Councilwoman Joy Colon, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lauren Gray, Eric Russell, CT State Treasurer nominee.
The event moved to the corner of Jesup Rd. and the Post Rd., where the crowd heard comments strongly supportive of the reproductive rights of women by Governor Ned Lamont, followed by remarks by US Senator Richard Blumenthal who's bill entitled Women's Health Protection Act of 2022, which was passed by the House and is expected to be voted on in the US Senate on Wednesday or Thursday, but will likely fail as fifty Republican Senators have indicated the will oppose it.
Next Congressman Jim Himes delivered a forceful defense of the right to choose, and State Senator Matthew Blumenthal, son of Senator Blumenthal delivered additional remarks. The crowd loudly cheered many remarks but was briefly silenced when Senator Blumenthal announce that five hours earlier Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that should Roe v. Wade be overturned and the Republicans gain control of the Senate, his party would work to pass legislation which would make abortion illegal in all fifty states. Connecticut, along with many other states has passed recent so-called "safe harbor" laws protecting women's right to choose, however should McConnell be able to follow through with his goal of outlawing abortion nationally, the Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2) of the US Constitution would render such state laws moot.
In addition to the elected leaders, organizer Darcy Hicks of Westport, founder of DefenDemocracy of CT, a grass roots political action group which has organized many rallies in support of progressive causes, brought to the podium Staples Graduate Dr. Janet Lefkowitz, an OB/GYN who described her travels to states where resident doctors are afraid to perform the procedure amid threats of death and harm to their families. Dr. Shieva Ghofreni of Stamford, another OB/GYN with abortion care experience spoke as well. Joy Colon a Trumbull Town Council member who is a woman of color spoke to the historic fundamental inequities in health car as they relate to reproductive rights among communities of color.
One speaker asked the crowd if anyone present either had an abortion or knew someone who had the procedure which resulted in many hands being raised. They described the ordeal of patients seeking care and doctors under threat for providing the women the health care they have been entitled to for half a century. Women who had received the procedure spoke to dispelled the myth that the decision to obtain a safe abortion was an "easy choice" as some in the "right to life" movement have touted in their vociferous opposition to Roe v. Wade. One woman described in stark terms being present when a non-medical abortion was performed on a kitchen table with a tragic outcome.
As is always the case in Westport protest rallies of any kind there were many creative slogans and signs addressing the salient points of the issue. The diverse crowd of men and women, and teenagers to grandmothers, one of whom proudly displayed a sign saying "now you've pissed off Grandma".
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
