My sink stopper is closed shut with standing water. The stopper lever goes up and down but does not open the stopper. I have tried prying it open unsuccessfully. Do I need to remove the trap under the sink to drain the water and manually open the stopper?
Thanks for any direction!

My sink stopper is closed shut with standing water. The stopper lever goes up and down but does not open the stopper. I have tried prying it open unsuccessfully. Do I need to remove the trap under the sink to drain the water and manually open the stopper?
Thanks for any direction!!

I have put up a image of your stopper image,(go see). Your clevis screw has loosened up and you can no longer raise the stopper.
Do this'; Loosen the screw and push the hoeizontal pivot rod all the way down. (The stopper is now open).
Lower the stopper lever down until it's just about touching the lavatory and then tighten the clevis screw on the stopper rod. This should put you back in business. Good luck, Tom,