Canton protesters to stand against changes to the Affordable Care Act on Sunday

Jan. 13--Tweet

CANTON -- The Democratic stand against changes to the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," will launch Sunday in Canton as well as elsewhere across the country.

A peaceful protest organized by several faculty members of St. Lawrence University to protest President-elect Donald J. Trump repealing the Affordable Care Act will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The group of protesters, who identify themselves as "Write the Power: NY District 21," will march from the Canton Village Green to the Canton-Potsdam Hospital E.J. Noble Clinic, 80 E. Main St. The protesters will then march to the Unitarian Universalist Church, 3 1/2 E Main St., where they will hear testimonials from local Affordable Care Act customers and how the issue affects them.

The event stems from a letter written and signed by U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

In the letter, the three called for a national "day of action" ahead of Mr. Trump's inauguration, asking Democrats to make Sunday the "first stand" in what could be a bruising legislative battle over health care in 2017.

"They said this was our first stand," Canton event organizer Sara Schaff said. "There will be other events that will come up as other legislation comes down the pipeline."

According to Calvin F. "Fred" Exoo, a member of the group and a professor of government at St. Lawrence University, there are approximately 160 active members of the group on its private Facebook page.

"We're a very diverse group. There are some retirees, some young people in college," Mr. Exoo said. "A lot of people are not ACA customers themselves, but care about whether their neighbors have health care."

Democrats argue that repealing the law will take away insurance from 30 million people in states throughout the country.

"To pull health care from that many people -- what a terrible disturbance in the force," Mr. Exoo said. "The ACA has already saved lots of lives. It is a lifeline for people who otherwise don't have access to affordable health care."

Republicans have said their plan wouldn't phase out the Affordable Care Act for two to three years. Republicans also promised they will replace it, but have not yet come up with a replacement bill.

According to Ms. Schaff, the group's message is directed toward U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, who has fought against the Affordable Care Act. The group plans to write letters to Ms. Stefanik and other members of Congress.

"We're hoping this is a way to bring together not just this one group of concerned citizens, but other people in the north country who are concerned about protecting health care," Ms. Schaff said. "We know it's not perfect, but it's a piece of legislation that needs to be fixed, not demolished. We need to move forward trying to support people whose lives have been impacted, and even saved, by having access to affordable health care when they hadn't before."

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