Every first Saturday of the month, St. Patrick's Old Cathedral hosts a “Witness for Life” group of protesters who march to the Bleecker Street Planned Parenthood to harass and intimidate patients. This group claims to be peaceful but their leader, Fidelis Moscinski, has been arrested at least 12 times breaking into abortion clinics across the country. This harassment outside of abortion clinics is tied to a belief system that denies pregnant people’s bodily autonomy, using coercion, shame, and intimidation to force their beliefs on others. They even wear pink vests to impersonate Planned Parenthood clinic escorts, tricking patients into talking to them. Everyone has the right to access reproductive healthcare without facing harassment, stigmatizing language, and intolerant religious activity while entering an abortion clinic.

We, the undersigned residents of Lower Manhattan and elsewhere, respect the rights of everyone to worship as they wish. However, since “Witness for Life” leadership has shown a proclivity to escalate their processions outside of NYC into clinic invasions intended to suspend healthcare services, which include abortions, for hours or more, we ask St. Patrick's Old Cathedral to no longer provide a staging ground for these attacks on the community.

For more information, you can visit us at www.abortionrights.nyc and follow us on Instagram @nycforabortionrights and on Twitter @nycforabortion. We also encourage people to call the church at (212) 226-8075 and let them know that clinic harassment is unacceptable in our community.