Judge Must Impose Maximum Penalty for Anti-Abortion Extremists
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
On Nov. 27, 2021, a women’s health center in Westchester County was invaded by three men who are members of the Red Rose Rescue. Refusing to leave, they harassed and intimidated patients and staff members. Red Rose Rescue is an extremist anti-abortion group that has repeatedly disregarded state and local trespassing laws, not to mention the privacy of patients at health centers. The men were arrested by the White Plains police and went to trial in March, where a jury quickly found them guilty of criminal trespassing.
The perpetrators, Christopher Moscinski, Matthew Connelly and William Goodman have been arrested numerous times before for similar offenses elsewhere. They will be sentenced in White Plains in June. The maximum sentence is three months in jail or one year probation and a fine of up to $500.
Given that each of them has a number of prior arrests for the same offense, it is incumbent on the judge to impose the maximum punishment. Anything less would be tacit encouragement to keep obstructing the rights of women.
Abortion is a private decision and legal right. No one has the right to impose their religious beliefs or morality on others or to interfere with their medical care. As numerous states are passing laws making abortion all but impossible and the Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion is and will remain a protected right in New York.
Yet having a legal right is not the same as having access to care. Let’s hope the judge appreciates that distinction and imposes the maximum possible sentence on Moscinski, Connelly and Goodman.
Celeste Theis
Croton-on-Hudson
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