Preparations are underway for this year’s NYC Pride March, which will be kicked off by Planned Parenthood, Adam Harding reports.
Planned Parenthood will held lead Sunday's NYC Pride March, organizers announced one day after the Supreme Court reversed a nearly five-decades old protection of abortion rights.
The longtime provider of sexual and reproductive health care is kicking off the parade and will be the first group to walk, Heritage of Pride, the parade's organizer, said Saturday.
"Pride was born of protest and will always be a space to fight injustice and discrimination. Join us as we advocate for bodily autonomy at this year's NYC Pride March," the group said in its announcement.
The annual parade kicks off from 25th Street and 5th Avenue at 12 p.m.
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Thousands of New Yorkers started protesting the Supreme Court's decision Friday afternoon, and are expected at additional protests throughout the weekend.
In the wake of Friday's ruling, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York said it would increase abortion appointments by 20% in anticipation of more people seeking services from out of state.
"While the court’s decision is devastating, we have been preparing for this day. At Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, we are committed to ensuring equitable access to all New Yorkers and people across the country in states hostile toward health care – and abortion is health care," interim president and CEO, Joy Calloway, said Friday.
In New York, abortion rights are protected by the 2019 Reproductive Health Act. In the words of the state Senate, the point of the law was to "codify Roe v. Wade protections into state law."
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The bill was signed into law in early 2019. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo celebrated the signing by having One World Trade Center lit up in pink that night.
In addition to codifying Roe vs Wade, the act moved abortion regulations into the state's health code, expanded who could provide abortions and also extended the window in which women could have abortions.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 16 states, New York and New Jersey among them, and the District of Columbia have laws that explicitly protect the right to abortion to varying degrees.
The parade route is expected to create plenty of foot traffic in Lower Manhattan along with dozens of road closures. The full list can be found here.
