Abortion rights debate hits NYC streets

Pro-choice activists demonstrated outside the Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan on Saturday as the debate over abortion rights in the United States spilled into the streets for another weekend.

A smaller group of pro-life supporters stood on the church steps facing the demonstrators while praying the rosary and singing the hymn "Ave Maria."

There is also added security outside Saint Patrick's Cathedral in case there are protests outside Sunday mass.

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"We are aware of the call for some kind of protest," a spokesperson for the archdiocese told FOX 5 NY. "We will work with law enforcement and take appropriate steps as needed."

Some pro-choice advocates are also calling for Mother's Day protests at Catholic churches nationwide. 

All of this comes after the leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court's conservative majority plans to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

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Abortion providers in New York are trying to measure a potential influx of women from out of state seeking their services as the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned weighs heavily across the country. 

In 2012, the CDC reported that out-of-staters accounted for about 3% of New York abortions but by 2019 that number tripled.