Attorney General James Takes Action to Stop Anti-Choice Group from Blocking Access to Abortion Care

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to stop members of Red Rose Rescue, an anti-abortion extremist group, from blocking access to abortion care in New York. Following the lawsuit she filed against Red Rose Rescue last month, Attorney General James today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the organization and its members from coming within 30 feet of any reproductive health care facility in New York state pending trial. 

Despite multiple convictions in New York and across the country, Red Rose Rescue and its members — including Christopher “Fidelis” Moscinski, Matthew Connolly, William Goodman, Laura Gies, and John Hinshaw — have repeatedly trespassed at abortion clinics and physically blocked access to reproductive health care services in an effort to stop clinics from operating. Obstructing or interfering with access to reproductive health care clinics, including abortion clinics, is illegal under the United States Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) and the New York State Clinic Access Act. 

“Red Rose Rescue continues to threaten reproductive health care providers and the patients they serve in New York and nationwide,” said Attorney General James. “Every person has the right to access reproductive health care clinics without obstruction or interruption. New Yorkers have my word: I will always take action to defend your right to make your own choices about your own bodies.”  

Red Rose Rescue is a radical anti-abortion group whose members seek to prevent abortions by trespassing into private medical facilities and clinics and refusing to leave until they are physically removed by law enforcement. In the past two years, Red Rose Rescue has delayed and interfered with the provision of reproductive health care services at three clinics in New York — Planned Parenthood in Hempstead, Nassau County; All Women’s Care in Manhasset, Nassau County; and All Women’s Health in White Plains, Westchester County. At each of these clinics, multiple patients’ appointments were delayed or missed due to Red Rose Rescue’s actions. 

Red Rose Rescue eschews legally protected peaceful protest, and instead the group’s members repeatedly violate clinic protection laws by physically interfering with the provision of abortion care services. In light of Red Rose Rescue’s documented refusal to cease this hateful, disruptive, and criminal misconduct, Attorney General James is seeking a preliminary injunction to prohibit the organization and its associates from knowingly coming within 30 feet of any New York facility that provides reproductive health care.  

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Attorney General James launched a pro bono legal hotline to provide legal support to patients and health care providers nationwide. New Yorkers are encouraged to call the New York abortion rights legal hotline at (212) 899-5567 for free legal information and resources about accessing abortion. 

This matter is being handled by Senior Counsel Sandra Pullman and Assistant Attorney General Zoe Ridolfi-Starr of the Civil Rights Bureau, Assistant Attorney General Julia Toce of the Watertown Regional Office, and Assistant Attorney General Heather McKay of the Rochester Regional Office, under the supervision of Civil Rights Deputy Bureau Chief Travis England. Additional assistance was provided by Special Counsel for Reproductive Justice Galen Leigh Sherwin of the Executive Division, Health Care Bureau Chief Darsana Srinivasan, and Detective Investigator Wilsonia Jean-Philippe of the Investigations Bureau. The Civil Rights Bureau and the Health Care Bureau are part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux. The Investigations Bureau is a part of the Division for Criminal Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado. The Executive Division, Division for Social Justice, and Division for Criminal Justice are all overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.