Women’s marches around the city marked 50 years since Roe v. Wade granted women the right to an abortion.

But with the Supreme Court overturning the decision last year, the future of reproductive rights remains uncertain.

“We don’t know what a post Roe world looks like and we are trying to figure that out or we are trying to fight for it back to fight for more,” an organizer at NYC Mobilization for Reproductive, Justice Marianna Ban said.


What You Need To Know

  • NYC Mobilization for Reproductive Justice held a rally Sunday

  • Advocates rallied for abortion rights

  • Marchers say though abortion is still legal in New York, they rallied for people across the country who lost access

  • Anti-abortion activists marched in Washington last week

“Not the church, not the state. Women will decide their fate,” was one of the chants heard at the rally Sunday.

“This is basically what would have been the 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade had it not been overturned this past June so it is an important day for us to reflect on the progress that was made and the progress that was taken away,” an organizer at NYC Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, Anna Herman said.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. This left abortion access and reproductive rights up to each state.  

In New York, NYC Mobilization for Reproductive Justice had speakers and a rally in Midtown East.

“It’s been really tough. Actually, lately my gut reaction is that I was really scared,” Ban said. “Advocates say they are here to protect abortion rights here in NY but they are here especially for the people who had those rights taken away around the country.”

“Even though we live in a relatively progressive place compared to the rest of the country abortion is not being threatened on a larger scale compared to other places, it is still especially important to fight for the rights of people who don’t necessarily have those voices or people who are being disenfranchised,” Herman said.

But at the national level, no progress for ensuring abortion rights has been made.

On Friday, anti-abortion activists rallied in Washington, D.C. 

They gathered at the March for Life and advocated for states to pass their own laws.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have called on Congress to pass legislation that would expand abortion access.

But for those arguing for more access, it is an uphill battle.  

Democrats were unable to pass legislation when they had control of both chambers of congress and with Republicans having a majority in the House, the chances are even more slim.