'Your Body Is Mine': Anti-Abortion Protester In FDNY Shirt Stokes Fire

New York City NY

09 May, 2022

12:35 PM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — An anti-abortion protester in an FDNY sweatshirt and "America First" hat stoked an online firestorm after video went viral of him shouting misogynistic comments at supporters of reproductive rights. "You have no choice," he shouted, as seen in the video. "Not your body, not your choice. Your body is mine, and you're having my baby." One video from the Saturday abortion rights protest in Manhattan drew 1.8 million views on Twitter — and prompted "FDNY" to trend on the social media site. The caustic response prompted FDNY officials to issue a statement Monday that denied the man is a firefighter or department member. "The comments made do not represent the views of the FDNY," said Frank Dwyer, the department's deputy commissioner of public information, in a statement. "The matter is under investigation." FDNY officials have yet to return a Patch request for further clarification, including on the investigation's scope, where the man got the sweatshirt or whether he previously worked for the fire department. Attire emblazoned with "FDNY" is readily available online. The video apparently depicts a clash between two groups outside Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in SoHo. A group aligned with NYC For Abortion tried to stop an anti-abortion group at the church from marching against a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic, tweeted @thizzL_, a self-described "anti fascist." The man drew notice online not only because of his FDNY attire and "America First" hat, but his responses to chants by abortion rights supporters. When supporters shouted "pro choice," the man responded: "You have no choice." He then followed the shout with a spate of misogynistic comments, before — as seen in another video — following up with, "Joke, joke, joke" as he rolled his eyes. Amy Siskind, an activist whose tweets helped spread the video, claimed the man "is saying out loud what so many Republicans white men are already thinking and saying in private." She also criticized FDNY officials for their "silence." "7 million views later, we have forced a response from the @FDNY - albeit a pretty watered down one," she tweeted.