The largest organization of pro-life millennials gathered in New York City Wednesday evening to oppose Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s radical new abortion law, which declares abortion a fundamental right.
Students for Life of America (SFLA) held its annual national gala in New York City as the group’s massive pro-life video billboard was running in Times Square. The billboard is scheduled to run through Saturday at 2:00 a.m.
“The pro-life generation has landed … right in the abortion capital of the United States!” said Kristan Hawkins, SFLA president, in a video posted to the organization’s Twitter account. She added:
We are here to declare that we are the pro-life generation, and, despite what the legislators here in New York passed just two months ago with the Reproductive Health Act, we are unafraid. And we know this generation rejects abortion extremism – abortion for all nine months, for whatever reason:
SFLA’s gala event, dubbed “Called to Bring Light to the Darkness,” featured Todd Starnes of Fox News; Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany, who condemned Cuomo’s abortion law; and some of the students from Covington Catholic High School, who were ridiculed and allegedly targeted by media and celebrities following the March for Life in January.
Hawkins said her group had “to fight” to get its billboards up in Times Square:
“When I asked our supporters if they wanted to send a pro-life message in Times Square, the answer was a resounding YES,” she said in a statement. “We had to fight to have our message heard as twice, companies pulled the plug on our custom-made ad after intensive negotiations.”
“But we don’t give up on college campuses, even when facing threats of violence, and we didn’t give up on sending a message to the vast majority of New Yorkers who reject infanticide and are horrified by the abortion extremism recently legalized in New York,” Hawkins added.
A recent poll that SFLA sponsored found 70 percent of millennials support restrictions on abortion. Additionally, a Marist/Knights of Columbus poll released two weeks ago found 75 percent of New Yorkers oppose abortion after the fifth month of pregnancy, including 69 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents, and 89 percent of Republicans.
SFLA staff and students also brought their #PlannedParenthoodTruth tour to New York City. The tour, which is currently visiting 130 campuses this spring, highlights “the abysmal standard of care that women endure in New York as a result of the Reproductive Health Act,” said the group.
“The message of the #PlannedParenthoodTruth tour is that women’s healthcare organizations should be regulated and inspected to ensure safety and to avoid corruption,” asserted SFLA. “Staff and students will be collecting signatures to let the NY Department of Health know that New Yorkers will not be silent as women walk through clinics that offer no protections for their patient.”