While Saturday, October 2, saw 600 “Ban Off Our Bodies” protests and marches mounted across the US against restrictions on abortion, sparked by the new law in Texas that allows ordinary citizens to sue health care providers over abortions taking place six weeks or more into a pregnancy, Sunday October 3 was “Respect Life Sunday” and that also brought out protests against abortion throughout the Catholic Church’s sphere of influence.

In Ellenville, a demonstration was planned for Saturday against abortion restrictions, though it is unclear if the demonstration drew many people, as there were competing rallies in Kingston, Newburgh, Beacon and even Narrowsburg. However, anti-abortion demonstrators lined up along Route 209 outside St. Mary and St. Andrew’s church on Sunday with their signs. Now and then the traffic honked at them and some responded with praise and even prayers. Anthony Pinque, the organizer of the protest explained that it had been conducted for about 20 years now. “We come here to stand in support of the unborn who can’t support themselves,” he said. Chris Hartman, another protester said “I believe people have the right to express their views. As a follower of Christ, I could not stand aside and not respond to the call.” Pinque said he had not heard of the Texas law and did not fully understand it. Hartman had heard about it but said he thought the Supreme Court would nullify it.

A notable feature of the new law in Texas was that it passes the right to sue abortion providers to ordinary citizens, taking officialdom out of the courtroom battles. This was done to protect the law from federal judges that could invalidate it if lawsuits were undertaken by state officials. The US Supreme Court earlier had stepped aside and not given a clear indication on the law. However, on Wednesday U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted the U.S. Justice Department an injunction to temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the law, citing its unconstitutionality. Texas, however, has appealed that decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In response to Pitman's order, NYS Attorney General Letitia James, who was part of a coalition of 24 state attorneys general who filed a briefing in support of the DOJ's challenge, tweeted Wednesday evening, "We fought this unconstitutional abortion ban in Texas, and now a court has ruled to immediately block this law. We will continue to fight to protect the right to an abortion in Texas and across our entire nation."

Looking ahead, the Texas Legislature has now passed a law that would make it a felony to send the drug misoprostol through the mail. This law will take effect on December 2. In the US, according to the Wall Street Journal, about 50 percent of pregnancy terminations in the US are now undertaken with this drug. It is primarily given in a doctor’s office, though instructions for its use can be found widely spread on the internet. It can also be purchased from a pharmacy in India, prescribed by a doctor in a European country and sent to a recipient in the USA.

The protests that happened on Saturday in New York were billed as being in solidarity and recognition of the people in Texas most affected by the law, and to rally voters to vote against lawmakers who would support such laws.

Emma Augustine, an Ellenville resident who participated in the Newburgh protest, is working towards holding a protest in Ellenville’s Liberty Square next Sunday, October 10, at 11 a.m. Those details, once finalized, will be shared on social media.

The Texas law, and a Mississippi law that forbids abortion after 15 weeks and which is to be reviewed by the US Supreme Court, come at a critical moment in the history of reproductive rights and medicine.

The Guttmacher Institute, which undertakes periodic census of abortion providers, released a report in 2019, chronicling a steady, continuing decline in abortions and the “abortion ratio” — the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies ending in either live births or abortion. In 2011, Guttmacher recorded 1,058,000 abortions, a number that fell to 862,000 in 2017. The abortion ratio declined from 21.2 in 2011 to 18.4 in 2017.

In that time period, Guttmacher noted that 32 states had enacted 394 new restrictions into law, that had all been allowed to take effect and not been struck down by a court. Many other such laws were struck down by courts, both federal and state.

While the anti-abortion efforts in those 32 states had reduced the number of clinics performing the procedure, Guttmacher noted that several states with such new restrictions saw increases in abortion rates. Furthermore, 57 percent of the 2011-2017 decline took place in the 18 states (and Washington DC) that did not adopt any such restrictions. California, for instance, actually improved access to abortion procedures. Guttmacher concluded that there is no clear link between restrictions to either clinic closures or to decreases in abortion rates. Guttmacher’s report concluded instead that increased restrictions were not the reason for the decline in abortions. It appears tied up with a general decline of births and pregnancies. However, abortion restrictions have had the effect of making it more difficult for women, especially poor women, to terminate pregnancy. Meanwhile, all across America there have been fewer pregnancies and births.

A study from 2014 by Rachel Jones and Jenna Jerman of Guttmacher that examined the decline in abortion rates from 2008 to 2012 suggested that a marked increase in contraceptive use, especially among teenagers, had mostly likely been the cause.

The US Supreme Court will take up the law passed in Mississippi that forbids abortions after 15 weeks, in the next session. That law, the Gestational Age Act, was passed in March 2018 and is a direct effort to undo the Roe v Wade decision of 1973. It was blocked in lower courts and then sat on the Supreme Court’s docket awaiting a review until a few weeks before the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the court in late 2020. Supreme Court observers suspect that three justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett — may overturn Roe v Wade.

To go with such a decision are “Trigger laws” passed in some conservative states that would go into effect immediately to completely ban all abortions in those states. The political repercussions of such a move are expected to shake America’s politics and views of the role of the Supreme Court. But, per Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State will continue to be a "safe harbor" for all who seek abortions.

NOTE: This story has been updated to include U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman's injunction order, issued October 6.