State Senate Hopeful Holds Rally on Women’s Rights Issues
Democratic state Senate candidate Robert Kesten led a rally Sunday in Mount Kisco urging for legislation to guarantee that women’s rights, including legal access to abortions and health insurance coverage for contraceptives, be protected.
Kesten, surrounded by a few dozen supporters in the public space between Village Hall and the library, urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to call a special session of the state legislature this fall so the state Senate can consider the Reproductive Health Act that would move abortion from the penal code and under the state health code.
Without its passage, a doctor and a patient could conceivably be criminally prosecuted if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, he said. Abortion in New York was legalized in 1970, three years before the landmark U.S Supreme Court decision.
“We will not go back to a time when women are second-class citizens, we will not go back to a time where people of color are second-class citizens,” Kesten said at the rally, which was coordinated with several progressive grassroots organizations and coincided with the annual Woman’s Equality Day. “We will not go back and anything that we can do to stop that we must do. It is our obligation as Americans, it is our obligation as citizens.”
Another measure that could be considered by lawmakers is the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act.
Kesten urged women’s rights advocates to call the governor’s office and to support state legislators who back the two pieces of legislation as well as other measures that have been stalled by the Republican Senate such as the Child Victims Act.
He said if the measures aren’t taken up until next year’s session the process would have to start from scratch. The Reproductive Health Act has already been approved by the Assembly.
With the possibility of hearings starting later this year for Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Kesten said women’s rights that had seemingly been safe for years could be rolled back. He also appealed to the crowd to call the offices of senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand letting them know they want Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings to be scrapped.
“Once again, women’s rights are human rights and there can be no compromise on that, never at any time,” he added.
Supporters and advocates said they were willing to give up part of a late summer weekend afternoon to hold signs and show solidarity with Kesten. Trish Sullivan-Rothberg of Yorktown, a film distributor who specializes in works addressing social justice issues, said she will back Kesten in the Sept. 13 primary against fellow Democrat Peter Harckham. The winner will face two-term incumbent Republican state Sen. Terrence Murphy.
“One of the reasons why I’m here today is Robert’s understanding of the core issues of women’s rights being human rights is why we need to elect him to the state Senate,” Sullivan-Rothberg said. “He has drawn for us what is at stake.”
Mariana Stout, a Peekskill resident, said Kesten shares her values.
“I truly believe he’s the person that will fight for us,” Stout said. “He’s not beholden on either political party. He’s articulate, he communicates all the time with the people who are following him and will hopefully become his constituents. He’s the type of advocate to shake up the status quo in Albany.”
For his part, Harckham has said he also supports the Reproductive Health Act.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/