Polly Rothstein
American Abortion Rights Pioneer
(1936-2016)
-
Abortion rights activist, Rothstein, dies at 80.
November 14, 2016. Lohud.com."She was a small person in size, but had a tremendous voice and impact on everyone she touched," former Yonkers state Senator Nick Spano said."
"Rothstein, who co-founded the White Plains-based Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion in 1972 -- shortly after the state Legislature voted to overturn a state law that made abortion legal in 1970, and a year before the U.S. Supreme court made abortion legal nationwide — was known for her persistence, passion and pursuit of women's health-care rights.
"Before helping to form the coalition, Rothstein volunteered for Planned Parenthood and became a lobbyist in the early 1970s. In Albany, she realized it was difficult to change people's minds on a religious topic, like abortion, and instead decided to focus her efforts on getting pro-abortion rights lawmakers elected, including now-U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, former Westchester County Executive Andy Spano, and recent presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who became a U.S. senator in 2000."
-
"In 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade, New York State legalized abortion. Two years later, the New York State legislature moved to rescind the recently passed abortion legalization laws and Polly Rothstein's career and our organization, WCLA, was born."
"Polly Rothstein, founder of WCLA (Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion) passed away yesterday. She was a tireless fighter for our rights — never shrinking from her principles — even when they called her a murderer and baby killer. Polly ignored the insults and kept her eye on the ball. Rather than focusing on emotions, she developed an effective tactic that our organization uses to this day. She called it Pro-Choice IDEA. She understood that politics was a numbers game, and her strategy to mobilize pro-choice voters which swung elections, turned Westchester County and New York state pro-choice."
-
The Bad Old Days, by Polly Rothstein. (Undated)
In Connecticut, where I grew up, birth control was illegal. Feminists had lobbied to repeal the law for decades, but lawmakers refused. I wondered how women-in-the-know avoided pregnancy. Some men used condoms (where did they get them?), but many women had shotgun weddings or hid out in homes for unwed mothers. Some got illegal abortions (pregnancy tests took two weeks -- after you had missed two periods). One who graduated from high school with me in 1954, her belly-of-shame too big to hide and no ring on her finger, was scorned. I still feel for her.
In 1958, fresh out of college and unworldly, I moved to Cambridge to get a job and share an apartment with my friend X. Birth control was illegal in Massachusetts, too. X announced that she was pregnant and that neither her psychiatrist nor her gynecologist would arrange a therapeutic abortion (essential for mental or physical health).
Barely able to utter "abortion," we said, "get rid of it," and saw no alternative. X called acquaintances for "a name," any name; qualifications were low priority. One referred us to Dr. Robert Spencer in Ashland, Penn, instructing X to complain of a vaginal discharge. We missed the humor of going from Cambridge to coal country for a vaginal discharge. Dr. Spencer told us the procedure would take two visits, what motel to call, and where to park.
Dr. Spencer's office was weird – walls and ceilings brimming with souvenir plaques from the gift shops in places like Lake George. One was a drawing of a vase that became the silhouette of two people when you stared at it. We avoided eye contact with the others in the waiting room, all of us too scared, unwilling to swap how-I-got-here stories, seek or give solace, or make small talk. X and I whispered to each other.
Dr. Spencer was white-haired and kindly, but couldn't ease our fear. He packed X's vagina with something to dilate her cervix and told us to come back in the morning. I have no memory of the evening. In the morning, I was fearful when Dr. Spencer installed me in a tiny room to wait it out and took X with him. The room had a chair, cot, afghan, and a black paperback, Crimes of Passion. I fantasized telling X's parents where we were, and why, and that she was dead. Eventually, Dr. Spencer came in with X over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, out cold. He gently unloaded her on the cot, her eyes rolled back so the whites showed. After she came to and had rested, he checked her and gave her post-op instructions and antibiotics. The entire charge was $50.
Dr. Spencer was the beloved town doctor, protected by the police, and a hero to women around the nation. He's in all the books about illegal abortions, and is the subject of a new documentary, "Dear Dr. Spencer: Abortion in a Small Town." His file of requests from desperate women and thanks from women he helped (some still put flowers on his grave) is an education in itself. We realized how lucky we were when we heard horror stories: the difficulties amassing the huge fees the butchers charged, being driven around blindfolded so as not to know where the deed was done, forced sex with the abortionist before he'd get to work, the tied hands and the mouth stuffed to muffle the cries of pain from abortions without anesthesia, the soiled equipment, the hemorrhaging, the lies to the hospital emergency room, and the newspaper reports of women who died trying not to become a mother.
I was married in NY in 1959. Though illegal, birth control was available in NYC, where I had a traumatic visit to Planned Parenthood, which required a doctor's note affirming I was getting married. Feeling like a loose woman and a liar, I also brought my newspaper engagement notice. If you're stunned at that, a friend's story tops it. After being fit for a diaphragm, she watched the doctor poke a hole in it so she could use it only for insertion practice, and return for a new one a day before her wedding.
My question about Connecticut women was answered in 1965 when I volunteered at the Port Chester Planned Parenthood, which had been established so they could beat the system. They took the train to Port Chester, walked to the clinic for an exam and "supplies," and boarded the train home with the bootleg diaphragm in a plain brown bag.
Also in 1965, the Supreme Court threw out Connecticut's contraceptive ban, interpreting the Constitution to give married women the right to privacy in such matters. (yes, 1965 and married women only.) In 1972, the Court let single women in on it, and a year later, January 22 1973, ruled in Roe v. Wade that the privacy right included abortion.
Are you surprised at the stories, and how recent reproductive rights are? Do you know that the anti-abortion religions and their legislative accomplices have already limited women's control over their pregnancies? Do you know you can save our rights by electing pro-choice candidates?
-
Legal Abortion: Arguments Pro & Con.
WCLA, Choicematters.org, Undated."This piece was written approximately 10 years ago and should be considered to be a historical document. However, there are still many points in this that are still relevant today."
-
Abortion Bill: Debate On; Two Sides on Legislature's Abortion Bill.
New York Times, August 26, 1979. -
"To quote Polly Rothstein of the prochoice persuasion, the Right to Life Party is a "fanatical minority" and "single-issue parties . . . traditionally go ..."
-
Minor Party Tries to Prove Itself.
New York Times, November 4, 1979."WHITE PLAINS. IN its first year as an official political party, the Right to Life Party has about 90 candidates on Tuesday's ballot in Westchester -- more than in any other county in the state. "It just worked out that way," said Mary Jane Tobin, the party's state chairman. 'They worked very hard to fill the line.'"
-
Westchester Board Votes Bill on Minors' Abortions.
New York Times, September 9, 1980."WHITE PLAINS, Sept. 8--The Westchester County Board of Legislators today passed a bill that would require doctors to notify parents in writing at least five days before performing an abortion on an unmarried minor."
-
Right to Life Victory Is Less Than Sweet.
New York Times, September 14, 1980."WHITE PLAINS. It was not a particularly good week for the Right to Life Party. Although the Westchester Board of Legislators passed a bill requiring that doctors notify parents in writing before performing an abortion on an unmarried minor, approval came by a vote of 9 to 8 and not 12 to 5 or 11 to 6, as had been predicted for months."
-
Safety, Legal Abortion Are Not Synonymous.
New York Times, November 15, 1981."Susan Schneider's article 'Antiabortion Plan: Where Is Justice?' (Sept. 20) and Polly Rothstein's letter concerning that article (Oct. 4) require a response to serve the cause of justice. Illegal abortion was and is a horror; legal abortion is no less a horror. Women did die from illegal abortion prior ..."
-
How do you fight to protect reproductive rights? Choice Matters uses its ProChoice IDEA action plan (Identification, Education, and Activation of pro-choice voters) that we created in 1984.
We identify voters who prefer pro-choice candidates and add them to our database.
Our newsletter, ProChoice, our yellow Voting Guide (together with WCLA PAC & ProChoice Voter), and other timely information tell these supporters in approximately 70,000 households (over 110,000 individuals) which candidates are pro-choice.
These supporters carry this information into the voting booths, casting their ballots only for pro-choice candidates.
Our political action committees, WCLAPAC & ProChoice Voter, also call the voters in our database and tell them who in their area is endorsed and who is opposed.
Candidates are endorsed based on their voting record and an interview with Choice Matters. This method has been proven to be extremely effective, but it’s very labor intensive!
-
Polly Rothstein. Ongoing Plight of Write-In Voter
New York Times, February 5, 1984.Abstract: "By law, voters can vote for ''any person for any office, whether or not nominated by any party.'' If a particular choice is not printed on the voting machine, the voter is allowed to write the name in the machine's write-in slot. But it is a myth that voters ..."
-
Polly Rothstein. A Clarification on LaMotte Statement
New York Times, February 5, 1984."The article 'Northern Democrats Assess Gains in Election' [ Nov. 15 ] reported on Patty Hotchkiss's victory over Ursula LaMotte in County Legislative District 2. It said some believe 'Mrs. Hotchkiss was greatly aided by a last-minute campaign by some who portrayed Mrs. LaMotte as an opponent of legalized abortion. Mrs. LaMotte acknowledged that the misrepresentation of her views contributed to her defeat.'
The above is not correct and it is important to set the record straight, lest history be rewritten. Of course, it should be stated at the outset that the prochoice effort for Mrs. Hotchkiss was conducted by Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion. The coalition decided to support Mrs. Hotchkiss after carefully discerning the positions on abortion rights of both candidates. There was no misrepresentation of Mrs. LaMotte's position."
-
James Feron. Lowey Victory: Anatomy Of an Upset.
New York Times, November 13, 1988."Ari Fleischer, a member of Representative Joseph J. DioGuardi's staff, glanced up at the net of balloons hanging from the ballroom ceiling at the White Plains Hotel on election night last week and sighed.
'That's a symbol of what happened tonight,' he said. 'Still up in the air.'
The victory celebration never materialized for Mr. DioGuardi, the two-term Republican-Conservative who seemed to have lost his bid for a third term the way he won his first, waiting for the delayed counting of absentee ballots.
It was Nita M. Lowey, his Democratic challenger, who cautiously claimed victory that night, leaving her home in Harrison to join 200 supporters at Peter's Place, a nearby restaurant. Mrs. Lowey had a 1 percent lead over Mr. DioGuardi, a margin that was not going to change.
Returns on a Balky Radio
She had been listening to earlier returns over a balky radio at home, racing around the house seeking better reception. Finally, the fragment of a report came through. She heard the words, 'an apparent Lowey victory.'
Sinking into a couch, she covered her face and said, 'Oh, my God. I'm going to Congress.'
At Peter's Place, Mrs. Lowey was in command. She thanked her campaign workers and the unions that had supported her. She singled out Polly Rothstein of the Coalition for Legal Abortion and said, 'I made it very clear - women have a right to choose whether or not to have a child.'"
-
"Abortion rights advocates, stung by the decision Monday in the Supreme Court, are moving fast to shape a state-by-state battle plan to preserve the right to abortion.
'There must be individual strategies,' said Eve Paul, the vice president for legal affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 'There's no point working hard, for example, to get legislation enacted if it will be vetoed by a governor.'
. . .The prototype for influencing local elections may come from a Westchester County project, The Coalition For Legal Abortion, that is credited in some quarters with defeating Representative Joseph J. DioGuardi last fall. The group did exhaustive voter identification, calling 100,000 women and asking if they would be willing to vote for a candidate - in this case Nita M. Lowey - based on her abortion position.
'Women will vote these issues if you ask them, even if they have to cross party lines,' said Polly Rothstein, director of the group. 'Why is it that gun owners are so politically powerful? There are more uterus owners than gun owners. And when uterus owners begin to vote this issue, we will win.'"
-
James Feron. Election Victory Casts Spallone in a New Role.
New York Times, November 12, 1989."Mr. O'Rourke and his campaign director, Peter Delaney, said they had fought not just Mr. Brodsky, an energetic campaigner who began early and maintained a steady pressure, but battled abortion advocates and critics of the administrations policy of improving the county airport.
Mr. Delaney said 'the pro-choice group,' headed by Polly Rothstein of the Coalition for Legal Abortion, 'spent $200,000, and the airport people spent $120,000,' in addition to Mr Brodsky's campaign spending, which the campaign manager estimated at $400,000."
-
Adam Nagourney. Schumer Presses D'Amato on Abortion Rights.
New York Times, September 30, 1998.." Spotlighting one of the clearest points of division between the candidates for Senate, Rep. Charles Schumer attacked Sen. Alfonse D'Amato on Tuesday over his opposition to abortion rights, describing him as an "extremist" whose votes in Congress had restricted the rights of women."
-
"On the front page of the Nov. 12 Westchester section ['Election Victory Casts Spallone in a New Role'] was a serious error regarding the expenditures of my organization, Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, on behalf of Richard Brodsky's campaign for County Executive. The Times quoted Andrew O'Rourke's campaign manager, Peter Delaney, about our finances without calling me to verify or comment. I did not authorize Peter Delaney to speak for me.
Mr. Delaney was not telling the truth when he said, 'The pro-choice group spent $200,000' in addition to Richard Brodsky's own campaign spending. This is Mr. Delaney's imagination at work. A phone call could have set the record straight.
Actually, Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion-PAC, not Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, spent just under $11,000 in support of Richard Brodsky. Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion-PAC also contributed $10,250 directly to the Brodsky campaign.
Had Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion-PAC raised and spent $200,000 on mail and phone telling the voters about Mr. O'Rourke's anti-choice record and pointing out his pre-election flip-flopping on the issue, I think Richard Brodsky would have won.
Mr. Delaney further distorted by saying our donation to Mr. Brodsky was 'in addition' to Mr. Brodsky's own campaign spending. Our donation to Brodsky has been counted as part of Brodsky's total spending and shouldn't be counted twice. Polly Rothstein, Director Westchester Coalition For Legal Abortion."
-
Ann Bower. Elections 1990: Geraldine Ferraro
The Body Politic, Vol. 1, No. 1 - January 1991.."Where do you think choice as an issue ranks with New York voters?
"'That's hard to determine. It depends on the district.' In Westchester the pro-choice voters are strong and well-organized by Polly Rothstein of the Westchester Coalition For Legal Abortion. Their influence caused a previously anti-choice Senator to change his political opinion to the pro-choice side. Yet, in my own District in Queens, the anti-choice supporters hold sway. The majority of New York voters are pro-choice, but local sentiment and organization are powerful political forces."
-
"'But if we consider President Bush's anti-choice litmus test for his key appointees, Mr. Dunne surely fills the bill.'"
-
"We will not stand for the image of women on their knees begging for their rights", said Polly Rothstein, President of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion.
-
Race for New York Senate Signifies Republicans' Turmoil
New York Times, August 13, 1992."Polly Rothstein, the director of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, said her group saw the race as critical because the contest comes just as women's voices appear to be growing more powerful nationally.
In 'the year of the woman,' she said, 'for somebody like that to want to knock off an experienced, viable woman is unacceptable.'"
-
Upset by Pataki Leaves a Conservative Message
New York Times, September 20, 1992.."Last week, Polly Rothstein, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, an advocacy group that had worked for Mrs. Goodhue's re-election, denied that Mrs. Goodhue's defeat reflected any loss of support for the movement to preserve a woman's right to an abortion. 'Mr. Pataki distorted his position,' she said. 'He mischaracterized himself as pro-choice, and many voters didn't realize that.'
The women's rights organization had also supported the campaign of a political newcomer, Terence P. Guerriere, in his unsuccessful effort to unseat a nine-term State Assemblyman, Peter M. Sullivan, in the 89th Assembly District. "We accomplished our goal -- to make Mr. Sullivan spend money," Mrs. Rothstein said, adding that the organization hoped to help the Democratic challenger, Naomi Matusow, defeat Mr. Sullivan in November."
-
James Feron. New District Lines, New Challenges
New York Times, October 11, 1992.."On the abortion issue, both candidates favor a woman's right to choose an abortion, Mr. Spano having switched his allegiance a few years ago. Polly Rothstein, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, said Mr. Spano 'has held to the pro-choice position firmly.' The Right-to-Life candidate is Peter J. Toner, who sought unsuccessfully to wrest the Conservative Party endorsement from Mr. Spano in a primary."
-
Guest Column
Taconic Newspapers, November 12, 1992..Humpty Dumpty politicians call themselves "pro-choice," but favor restrictions. Clearly, there's no "but" permitted. As Senator Nick Spano (R-Yonkers) told me when he switched from anti-choice to pro-choice in January 1990, that he was with us on Medicaid and minors, too: "You can't be a little bit pregnant, and you can't be a little bit pro-choice." Mr. Meservc suffers from Republican blindness; he doesn't sec that the right to have an abortion is meaning-less for women who can't exercise it. Abortion restrictions arc like a poll tax. As voting is not reserved for rich citizens, abortion should not be reserved for rich adult women. Mr. Meservc says Mr. Fish wrote during the campaign that he "respected the right of his daughters and grand-daughters" to have an abortion (shadesof Quayle-waffle and Bush-waffle). Meservc says he called Fish one night and to ask if he'd change the ''daughters and granddaughters" to "all American women," and Fish agreed. Remember that Neil McCarthy, Fish's Democratic opponent, stared him down on the choice issue. Apparently Fish blinked, unless he had his fingers crossed -- or meant he respected the right of women to seek out an illegal abortion. It sounds to me like an election conversion to pro-choice. I wonder if he'll remember when he's voting on women's lives in the new Congress."
-
Else Brenner. Climate of Confrontation on Abortion
New York Times, January 16, 1994.."In Westchester -- 20 years after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortions -- doctors and organizations favoring abortion report that all women are able to obtain the procedure regardless of their age, ability to pay or their reasons for terminating a pregnancy. Contrary to regulations in other states, Medicaid in New York covers abortions for poor women. Also, there is no parental consent requirement in the state.
"'Yet the problems are not over,' said Polly Rothstein, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortions, an advocacy organization in White Plains.
'This week, in this county, women are able to get abortions,' she said. 'But what will happen in the future is uncertain. Everything hinges on who is in office. What we have gained can be lost, and laws can be changed.'
Despite the legal gains that have been made, a climate of uneasiness persists in the county, and protests at local abortion clinics continue. Nationally, bombings and arson at clinics, protests and arrests of anti-abortion forces and the shooting and murder of abortionists goes on. Last year an abortionist in Pensacola, Fla., and another in Mobile, Ala., were shot to death."
-
"As leaders of New York State pro-choice organizations, we must comment on your March 15 report that State Senator George E. Pataki has declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination to oppose Gov. Mario M. Cuomo next November. You describe Mr. Pataki as 'pro-choice' even though he supports certain restrictions on abortion rights.'
Both sides of the abortion issue are aware that although Mr. Pataki has recently characterized himself as pro-choice, there is a well-documented difference between his rhetoric and his record.
The Westchester Right to Life Committee political action committee, in its 1992 candidates assessment, acknowledged that while Mr. Pataki "claims to be pro-choice," in fact "he has a pro-life voting record."
In the State Senate last year, and during his previous eight-year tenure in the Assembly, Mr. Pataki voted consistently to strike from the state budget funds for medically necessary abortions for poor women. He voted repeatedly to deny Medicaid abortion coverage to victims of rape or incest.
In addition, he is on record in support of legislation that would create roadblocks to safe abortion and dangerous delays for young women who cannot involve their parents.
This year, Mr. Pataki publicly opposed a bill to increase penalties to deter illegal, Operation Rescue-style blockades of abortion providers and other medical facilities.
From his record, we can readily imagine how critical issues of choice would fare if Mr. Pataki were elected. The governor has more control than anyone else in the state over abortion access and affordability, which are now of paramount importance at the state level.
It is the governor who must approve Medicaid funds to insure poor women an equal choice, and who can sign into law or veto proposals to restrict abortion access or protect women's rights.
Clearly articulated positions and voting records on abortion access and affordability issues (the only issues that state-level policy makers deal with) provide the sole accurate way to gauge support for abortion rights."
-
Pataki's Abortion Stance Draws Fire From Both Sides
New York Times, June 4, 1994.."'He has never done anything whatsoever to show he is pro-choice,' said Polly Rothstein, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion.
-
"The Internet is a terrific tool to use for mobilizing women," said WLN Vice Chair Polly Rothstein. "After we posted a few notices, women on the Internet took the initiative to spread our message to every corner of cyberspace. Within three weeks, we received over 1,200 enthusiastic responses from women across America who are furious about the proposed cuts, and we are getting 50 more each day. Women are using the Internet in larger numbers than anyone realizes, and we believe we will be able to mobilize tens of thousands of women to go out into their communities and defend their rights," she said."
-
Abortion Is an Issue In Groups' Support
New York Times, October 20, 1996."WESTCHESTER'S delegations to the State Legislature and to Congress are overwhelmingly in favor of choice on abortion, as are most of their major-party opponents in this year's election.
As a result, the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion has in some races endorsed one so-called pro-choice candidate over another, while in other instances it has endorsed two candidates in the same race. The guiding principle, said Polly Rothstein, executive director of the coalition, has been, when possible, to endorse deserving incumbents. 'These people have been leaders,' she said."
-
At Face Value
Empire State Report, October 1996."Kelly's vote against a ban on late-term abortion drew a stark battle line. But with the GOP fundamentally pro-life, the Kelly campaign asked the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion not to issue a press release announcing its endorsement, seeking instead its support behind the scenes.
Political consultant Jay Townsend, who advises Kelly, says the coalition was "extraordinarily helpful" in renting a list of 10,500 pro-choice Republicans whom the campaign contacted and urged to vote. "Our endorsement has tremendous impact. Politicians vie for it , says coalition President Polly Rothstein."
But in the general election, the coalition endorsed both Kelly and Democrat Richard Klein. Despite her vote on late term abortions, Kelly "hasn't been [the] kind of leader [on abortion issues] that would warrant support over Richard Klein," Rothstein says.
-
Elsa Brenner. The Power Women Share as Lobbyists
New York Times, January 19, 1997."Countering the opposition, Polly Rothstein, a steering committee member and president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, a 25-year-old advocacy group, denied that the Women's Agenda was a front for Planned Parenthood but said the group was clearly concerned with women's reproductive health issues.
'Our bottom line is abortion rights, and no candidate will get endorsed who is not pro-choice,'' she said. ''However, if someone is only pro-choice and terrible on everything else, they won't get an endorsement either.'
Citing the positive side of the opposition, she observed that Mr. Jones and Mrs. Holibaugh's criticisms were 'a clear indication that our message is getting through.'''
-
Abortion Coalition Observes Anniversary
New York Times, May 11, 1997."The Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, and though abortion has been legal in the state since 1970, the controversy surrounding the issue is no less intense than it was a quarter of a century ago.
Protests continue each Saturday morning at the Women's Medical Pavilion, a clinic that provides abortions in Dobbs Ferry, where roughly 1,200 demonstrators have been arrested since 1988. This spring a Federal judge approved a settlement barring protesters from blocking clinic access and threatening them with a $25,000 fine if they do so. The continuing protest led to the first civil case in the country that used the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to punish protesters.
In New Rochelle, 250 people gathered recently to march and pray in front of a proposed site for a Planned Parenthood clinic, where an array of medical services including abortions, counseling and prenatal care will be offered. Msgr. William Bradley of the Blessed Sacrament Church in New Rochelle recited the rosary over a hand-held loudspeaker, while protesters, some carrying signs depicting the Virgin Mary, took part in the march.
Proposed Federal and state legislation to criminalize mid-trimester abortions -- called dilation and evacuation by doctors and partial-birth abortions by those who want to ban them -- has raised passions locally as well as nationally. Sue Kelly, the Republican Congresswoman representing the 19th District covering most of northern Westchester, set off a furor among those who want to keep abortion legal when she voted to ban the procedure after campaigning as a candidate in favor of a woman's right to choose an abortion."
-
Position On Abortion Spurs Dispute
New York Times, September 21, 1997. -
Spewing Hate
National Review, October 27, 1997.In his homily on Sunday, Cardinal O'Connor of New York condemned the assassination of Buffalo abortionist Barnett Slepian. That didn't stop Polly Rothstein, president of something called the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, from blaming him for the shooting anyway. Although she allowed that O'Connor didn't technically fire the gun, Rothstein said he "is accountable for these religious followers who do pull the trigger." Also referring to James Dobson, Rothstein said, "Without these leaders spewing hate, there would be no anti-abortion movements."
-
1997 Annual Report
"October 26
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. October 26, 1997.."Westchester, NY — Polly Rothstein, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, blamed John Cardinal O'Connor of New York for the killing of Buffalo abortionist Dr. Barnett Slepian. Accusing pro-life religious leaders of 'spewing hate,' Rothstein said that although he did not pull the trigger, 'Cardinal O'Connor is accountable for these religious followers who do pull the trigger.'"
-
A New Constitution: Yes or No?
New York Times, November 2, 1997."At the White Plains offices of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, Polly Rothstein, the advocacy group's president, expressed the worry many liberal groups have articulated: that the selection process for a constitutional convention would favor conservative delegates because it would be based on state Senatorial Districts."
-
"For instance: Dr. Allan Rosenfield, dean of the School of Public Health, Columbia University, said that he not only supports legalized abortion, he also performs them. But he does not summarily dismiss those to whom the idea is troublesome. 'After all, if you believe life begins at fertilization, you're going to probably oppose abortion,' he said. 'After all, these are the cells that will grow into you and me.'
If, however, one believes that the early fetus is an incipient, rather than an already existing human, abortion becomes a morally acceptable option. 'There really is no middle ground between the two views,' he said, unless it is contraception. 'Those who oppose abortion ought to at least be supportive of contraception, to prevent unwanted pregnancies. That is our only hope for a middle ground. Also, I look at it this way: reality is, Women are going to go on having abortions, so they might as well be done safely and legally.'''
The symposium was sponsored by a long list of organizations: Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, Westchester Women's Agenda, Planned Parenthood of Hudson Peconic, National Organization for Women of Westchester, Westchester Coalition for Democracy, American Jewish Committee and Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Polly Rothstein, president, Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, said that the variety of sponsors reflected the range of people who support legal abortion. Francine Stein, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Hudson Peconic, said she had thought the emphasis on clergy was particularly interesting.
-
"To the Editor:
"Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma, criticizing the Democrats' patient bill of rights (news article, April 1), said he was distressed to see ''members of Congress putting on lab coats and prescribing by law treatment for all of America.'' He just made the case against banning ''partial-birth abortions'' and meddling in other sex-related health care, which are big ideological issues for him. Didn't he think anyone would notice the contradiction? -
Elsa Brenner. The Medical Center Tests Privatized Waters
New York Times, May 24, 1998."In an issue unrelated to its disagreement with county government, the newly independent hospital faced a controversy early this spring, which has focused attention on the role of a Roman Catholic affiliate -- the New York Medical College -- at the time of an increasing number of mergers between nonsectarian and church-affiliated hospitals.
Dr. David N. Mesches, who was chairman of the family medicine department at both the Medical Center and the Roman Catholic college, was dismissed from the college position for remarks he made publicly to a newspaper about abortion. He told The Daily Freeman in Kingston, N.Y., that abortion is 'the law of the land' and 'the right thing to do.'
Dr. Mesches had agreed to lease space in his clinics to three hospitals in the Kingston area -- one Catholic and two nonsectarian -- which are planning to merge. But because Catholic doctrine forbids abortions, the merger agreement would bar all three hospitals from performing abortions and sterilizations. While officials at New York Medical College had raised no objections to the clinic plan or Dr. Mesches's role in it, they asked him to step down because of his statements.
For the Medical Center, the problem was its affiliation agreement with New York Medical College, which shares space with the hospital on county property here. Also doctors at the hospital, who are members as well of the New York Medical College faculty, perform abortions at the Medical Center, which also planned to lease space for such procedures at Dr. Mesches' clinics.
Two prominent Westchester women's groups objected to the relationship because of concern that the influence of the Catholic Church would interfere with the Medical Center's ability to provide such services -- especially since one of its primary missions is to care for the indigent.
In a letter to Mr. DelBello, the leaders of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion and the Westchester Women's Agenda asked the hospital board to state formally that it would never allow the Roman Catholic college to interfere with the availability of abortions and other reproductive health services at the hospital.
'The women's movement in Westchester has always had strong misgivings about the affiliation of the Westchester Medical Center with the New York Medical College,' said a letter from Polly Rothstein, president of the Coalition for Legal Abortion. 'Our concern lies in the fact that the college is a Roman Catholic institution, closely affiliated with the New York Archdiocese. The college abides by Catholic religious directives on sex-related health care and omits abortions, contraception, tubal ligations and vasectomies. The removal of Dr. David Mesches from his department chairmanship for saying publicly that he supports abortion rights has set off our warning bells.'
The letter suggested that the board of directors of the hospital sever its affiliation with the New York Medical College and join with a nonsectarian medical school."
-
Fewer Contested Races Seen in Westchester>
New York Times, August 2, 1998."Also, a possible rift in a longtime alliance between the Westchester Republican and Conservative Parties over the issue of some types of abortions -- a rift that could have made some races more competitive by helping Democrats who were challenging Republican incumbents -- did not materialize."
. . . Senator Spano said he promised the Conservatives nothing other than to talk further with them. In an interview, he reiterated his opposition to Senate Bill 1800, which relates to partial-birth abortions and which he has previously voted against. Mrs. LaMotte said that when the Conservatives asked her how she felt about third-term abortion, 'I said they don't happen in New York State,' referring to New York law, which bans abortions of any kind after the 24th week of gestation. Mrs. LaMotte added, ''I am pro-choice and always have been.'' As to the specifics of Senate Bill 1800, she said she wanted to read the bill before commenting. Assemblyman Spano's Democratic opponent is John Guarneri of Yonkers.
Polly Rothstein, the executive director of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, which has in the past endorsed the Spano brothers and Mrs. LaMotte, said she knew of nothing to make her regret those endorsements. She also argued that the partial-birth abortion debate was a fraud and that the public had been falsely led to believe that viable babies are suctioned out in late-term as a means of killing them. 'There is no such thing as partial-birth abortions in New York State,'' she said. ''Abortion opponents have invented this whole cockamamie thing.'''
-
The Tolerance Police: Shouting down Christians?
World Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 49 December 19, 1998."Polly Rothstein of the Westchester (N.Y.) Coalition for Legal Abortion tied the two murders together and left no doubt about who was to blame for both. She said the pope, the bishops, and conservative evangelical ministers 'didn't pull the trigger," but that the blood of Barnett Slepian and Matthew Shepard 'is on the hands of religious leaders who have, with vitriolic language, incited zealous followers to murder abortion doctors and gays and lesbians.'"
-
1998 Tribute to Our Feminist Forefathers
Sunshine for Women, 1998."A tribute from Polly Rothstein, President of Women Leaders On-Line (WLO) about Bob Fertik of WLO:
"I've known and worked very closely with Bob on abortion rights since 1983.We invented ProChoice IDEA together (he coined the name), we co-wrote the original article (his idea) describing Nita Lowey's first election to Congress with our help and using our process, wrote a handbook about it together, founded the ProChoice Resource Center, and plotted political strategy together. Our ideas have been carried out and have turned Westchester into a pro-choice county and WCLA into a political powerhouse.
"But he'd rather give me credit than take his due. Bob is a visionary who takes things a step further than others would, because it wouldn't occur to them. WLO WOC was his idea, his vision, his doing, and is the result of his persistence and his and Antonia's funding.
"Bob's pre-WLO newsletter, Political Woman, was absolutely brilliant in its insights and beautifully written political commentary regarding women in politics. It was held in high esteem by everyone. I've asked him to write more long pieces for WLO, but he says he has too little time. It's a pity. He sees the big picture. I can truthfully say he's brilliant. He's also the best father I have ever observed, from the day his extraordinary son Teddy was born.
"I've suffered greatly when Bob has been excluded from inner circles, ignored, put down, or not trusted by powerful (but sometimes limited) women because he's a man. What a loss. The primary problem women have with government is that the alpha males feel they can disregard us, brush us off, and vote our rights away. We can attribute that directly to the pathetic and glaring lack of feminist and pro-choice leadership on the national level. As far as I can see, those with the clearest vision and the ability to articulate it best are Gloria Steinem, Faye Wattleton, and Bob Fertik."
Note: Expanding Rothstein's and Fertik's original 1984 work of mobilizing Pro-Choice voters in New York's Westchester County, Fertik has co-founded a nationwide network of Pro Choice organizations, VoteProChoice.us. He describes it as "a radically inclusive political engagement platform working to elect prochoice candidates to every public office across the country". The organization publishes a #VOTEPROCHOICE VOTER GUIDE. The step-by-step guide "includes every race on the ballot in every state, highlighting #VOTEPROCHOICE endorsed prochoice champion candidates. We have also included over 150 ballot initiatives that impact reproductive justice."
-
Outrage Over Spano Abortion Vote
New York Times, April 11, 1999."NICHOLAS A. SPANO'S vote in the State Senate is a symbolic one when it comes to abortion issues; the Republican-controlled Senate is solidly against abortion, and Mr. Spano's support of a woman's right to an abortion does not change that. Nor does the Senate endorsement of legislation limiting abortion change the fact that the Democratic-controlled Assembly consistently rejects any abortion restrictions.
But Mr. Spano's vote last month against a ban on an abortion procedure often called 'partial-birth abortions' has so angered leaders of the New York State and Westchester Conservative parties that they have vowed to get him — politically. In the aftermath of the vote, a chain of Westchester weekly newspapers published Mr. Spano's photograph as a target in the cross hairs of a telescopic sight, causing Mr. Spano and others to be concerned that some people could see it as a suggestion that Mr. Spano be killed for his vote, just as some doctors who perform abortions have been murdered."
-
Is life-at-conception simply a 'religious belief'?
ChristianAnswers.net, circa 2000. -
Making It Work: Passing the Baton
New York Times, November 25, 2001. -
Campaign 2004: Spending on Pro-Choice Vote Surges
WomensENews, August 23, 2004."(WOMENSENEWS)--When the moment came this year to decide between making a political campaign donation or supporting the ballet that she loves, Polly Rothstein didn't hesitate. She chose politics.
"I'm putting more into electoral organizations and cutting down on non-electoral," said Rothstein. "I look for aggressive campaigns that identify voters and get them to the polls, and don't just spend my money on big offices and consultants," said Rothstein.
While Rothstein has long worked for choice--she's founder of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, Inc. in New York and co-author of a 1990 manual "Pro-Choice Power: How to Turn Pro-Choice Supporters Into Pro-Choice Voters and Change American Politics"--pro-choice organizations and political campaign experts say that she is not alone."
-
After Reflection, Pirro Stands Against Late-Term Abortion
New York Times, August 10, 2005. -
Clinton's Challenger Says She Opposes Late-Term Abortion
New York Times, August 10, 2005. -
"On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that secured the right to abortion, the nationwide picture could not look grimmer. That’s what makes Tuesday’s victory in New York, which protected and expanded abortion rights in the state through the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) so important.
"Across the country, anti-abortion politicians have been eroding abortion rights in state after state. Since 2011, they have quietly passed more than 400 restrictions, creating a web of barriers to safe, respectful, and affordable abortion care. These politically motivated laws force doctors to lie to patients; require multiple, medically unnecessary appointments; and impose far more onerous restrictions on abortion providers than other health care providers, causing clinics to shut down.
"Emboldened by the prospect that the Supreme Court might eviscerate or overturn Roe, some states are now trying to ban abortion outright. Take Kentucky, where we represent the sole remaining clinic in the state. Just this month, Kentucky politicians introduced a bill that would ban abortion before most women even know they’re pregnant. And Kentucky isn’t alone — legislators in many other states have introduced similar bills.
"But as threats to legal abortion increase, we are championing policies that safeguard the ability of women to make our own decisions. Passage on Tuesday of the Reproductive Health Act, along with two other bills expanding contraceptive coverage and protecting employees’ reproductive decisions, makes New York the first of several states — including possibly New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont — to proactively protect abortion rights and access to reproductive care in the coming year.
"With the RHA, the protections of Roe will finally be part of New York state law. This reform is critically necessary in order to preserve New Yorkers’ access to abortion if Roe falls or is severely weakened, and it also sends a message to policy-makers nationwide that we shouldn’t play politics with women’s health care.
"Many people may assume that abortion rights were already well protected in New York — a solidly progressive state. But actually, New York’s law governing abortion was enacted before Roe in 1970. While it was cutting-edge at the time — New York was one of the first states to legalize abortion — it hasn’t been reformed since, making it woefully out of date and out of step with today’s medical realities and constitutional requirements.
"The RHA recognizes abortion as a fundamental right and fixes several flaws in New York’s outdated abortion law. It helps ensure that women can get the health care they need throughout their pregnancy, including when their health is at risk or the fetus is not viable — in line with the protections of Roe. It takes abortion out of the criminal code and puts it where women’s health belongs, in the public health law. And it acknowledges that the medical field has changed dramatically in the past 50 years by making it clear that qualified health care professionals, like nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can provide abortion care that is within their training and scope of practice, rather than limiting the practice to licensed physicians.
"The RHA, for which the New York Civil Liberties Union and its coalition partners have fought for more than a decade, will make New York a safe haven for women from New York and all over the country — a place where abortion is available and regulated according to best medical practice. It will make health care more accessible to low-income and rural New Yorkers and ensure that patients — not politicians — are able to make the informed health care decisions that are best for them and their families."