Can a New Law Curtail Protests Over Abortions?
The Dobbs Ferry Village Justice, Luba Iler, saw it from a different perspective. She found the demonstrators guilty of committing several misdemeanors, including violating an order of protection, and sentenced them to up to 45 days in the County Jail in Valhalla. Under most circumstances, last month’s incident would not have been considered unusual, as anti-abortion demonstrators have become as much a part of the local landscape as traffic jams along North Broadway. Police Chief George N. Longworth of Dobbs Ferry said his officers had become so “expert at processing mass arrests,” that it had become a routine matter for them. And Dr. Steven G. Kaali, who can hear the protesters’ cries in the operating room of his clinic, said that over time he had become inured to the demonstrations, which he now dismisses as “modern-day stonings.” Chief Longworth has also grown weary of the protests, and he said he would prefer to focus his energies on other municipal problems. The Village Administrat
