LI Representatives React To Roe V. Wade Overturn

LONG ISLAND, NY — On Friday Morning, the Supreme Court released a decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which codified the right to abortion.

The decision was not a surprise, since a draft opinion was leaked last month. But many were still shocked and appalled by the ruling.

Many Long Island representatives have expressed outrage over the ruling. But some Republicans are supporting the Supreme Court decision.

"Today, the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a woman’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions. American women today will have less freedom than their mothers," said Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who's running for governor of New York. "Sadly, there are those who seek arrest doctors for offering reproductive care. They are wrong."

Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican who is also running for governor, supported the decision.

"Today is a victory for life, for family, for the constitution, and for federalism," he said in a statement. "When my daughters, Mikayla and Arianna, were born 14.5 weeks early, I had the opportunity to witness life in the second trimester and it was absolutely beautiful. In a state that has legalized late term partial birth abortion and non-doctors performing abortion, in a state that refuses to advance informed consent and parental consent, and where not enough is being done to promote adoption and support mothers, today is yet another reminder that New York clearly needs to do a much better job to promote, respect and defend life."

But Zeldin was in the minority of Long Island representatives, many of whom are against the Supreme Court's ruling.

"This is the America that radical Republican extremists have been relentlessly pushing towards for decades: a country where guns have more rights than people do. A country where women will die in back alleys, and children will die in classrooms. A country where same-sex couples will have their marriage licenses torn to pieces. And a country where contraception is banned, for no other reason but to control women's bodies," said New York Sen. Anna Kaplan. "This is a moment of reckoning for our nation. Will Americans stand idly by while our freedoms are stripped away from us piece by piece, or will we stand up and say together that we're not going back? I refuse to stand by, and I refuse to go back, and I call on every American of good conscience to join me, get engaged, and work towards restoring the America that we all know and love."

Sen. Phil Boyle, a Republican from Bay Shore did not comment on the ruling, but filed a bill that would ban the use of taxpayer money to to help out-of-state women access abortion care in New York.

"Now that Roe v. Wade is overturned, I believe it is only a matter of time before the far-left legislators who control the agenda in Albany try to make New Yorkers pay for the air fair, hotel stays and abortion procedures of women from other state who travel here to terminate their pregnancies," Boyle said in a statement. "Regardless of one's position on abortion, that is where New York taxpayers will draw the line!"

But most Long Island representatives expressed their frustration and anger over the ruling.

"Spare me about the sanctity of life," Rep. Kathleen Rice posted on Twitter. "Between yesterday's decision on guns and today's on choice, this Supreme Court clearly doesn't care."

"Today’s decision is another example of the Supreme Court making partisan decisions that will harm millions of Americans," said state Sen. Jim Gaughran. "One of the first bills I voted on was to codify the right to an abortion here in New York State. But that’s of little consolation to women in other states. Congress needs to act, and act immediately, to protect the rights of women to seek abortion services nationwide. New York has and will continue to lead on this issue, and we have more to do, we need our partners in Washington to follow."

"SCOTUS decision breaks with nearly 50 years of Constitutional protections and legal precedent," Sen. Kevin Thomas wrote on Twitter. "It's obvious these radical justices are willing to cross any line to push their unpopular, conservative agenda and go against will of the American people. Abhorrent and dangerous."

"The Supreme Court, in issuing this ruling this morning, has effectively swept away the fundamental right of millions of women across the country to control their own bodies and make their own healthcare decisions without undo interference from the government," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.