Abortion rally held at Rochester City Hall

Rochester, New York — Saturday, an abortion-rights protest was held at Rochester City Hall in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The event, known as “We Won’t Go Back,” was created by a national coalition known as “Bans Off Our Bodies,” an abortion-rights movement that was formed to mobilize against anti-abortion laws.

Speeches from Michelle Casey, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, were included at the event, and others who have personally seen or experienced positive impacts from people having abortion rights. “Roe v Wade has been in place my entire life and all of a sudden I wake up on a random Friday and I don’t have that right anymore,” said protestor Kat Scouten. “It was such a shock, it was literally like getting hit in the face with a boulder.”

According to others at the protest, this sends a message to local and state lawmakers to not cave to any proposals to restrict access to abortion.

“I feel scared, I mean I’m in New York but I don’t know where I’m going to be a couple of years from now going to school and things,” said protestor Danielle Pusateri. “I also know a lot of people around the country.”

Organizers of the protest said in a statement:

“The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade, ending our constitutional right to abortion. It has never been more important for us to show up for abortion access. We won’t go back.”

“We Won’t Go Back” protests are happening nationally, according to the coalition’s website.