A combative Kathy Hochul signed on Monday a package of 6 laws to protect the reproductive rights of women in New York in the face of the imminent repeal at the federal level of the law that protects abortion.
Accompanied by the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, the governor firmly expressed that she refused to go back to the past. “It was unimaginable until some time ago that we were about to see the sky collapse,” she said as a metaphor in reference to the ruling that the Supreme Court will issue in a few days on the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
“Reproductive rights are human rights, and today we are signing landmark legislation to further protect them and all who wish to access them in New York State. New York women will never be subjected to government-ordered pregnancies. Not here. Not now. Never”, reformed Hochul.
“We are taking steps to protect our service providers from retaliatory actions by anti-abortion states and ensure that New York is always a safe port for those seeking reproductive health care. New York has always been a beacon for those who yearn to be free. And I want the world to hear, loud and clear, that that will not change,” she said.
The governor added that the debate is not only about access to abortion. “The wealthy people are going to find a way (to get the services). But for Latinas, black women, and low-income women, (eliminating Roe vs. Wade) is an attack on their rights.”
That is why he recalled that a fund of 35 million dollars has been allocated to help women defend their right to decide about their bodies.
In her turn, Assembly Leader Andrea Steward-Cousins also echoed the governor’s words after repeating on several occasions: “Not here, not now, never.”
Steward-Cousin brought up her personal anecdote: “In the 70s I was a teenager who became pregnant and by then it was clear that I had options. That is why it makes no sense that we have reached this point now.”
“The leaked Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade shocked the entire country. Taking away the right to safe and legal abortion will harm women’s health and relegate them to being second-class citizens without any rights.”
However, she added that once again New York will lead the way in ensuring reproductive rights and protecting New York women from harmful policies implemented in other parts of the country.
State Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett added, “This is a sanctuary for women. We are an example for the rest of the nation. Here abortion will be safe and accessible, because overturning Roe v. Wade is not going to eliminate abortions, on the contrary, they can make them risky.”
The authorities recalled that with these laws, women who live in hostile states can also come to New York, without fear of consequences, regardless of the decision finally handed down by the Supreme Court.
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What do the 6 measures consist of?
- 1.- Legislation S.9039A/A.10094 will allow people to file a claim against someone who has sued them or brought charges against them for providing, assisting or obtaining reproductive health services or endocrine care in accordance with the law of the New York State.
- 2.- S.9077A/A.10372A is intended to provide certain legal protections for providers of abortion services, those who help another person obtain an abortion, or people who self-manage an abortion. This bill provides those protections by creating a statutory exception to extradition for abortion-related crimes, prohibiting courts from cooperating with out-of-state civil and criminal cases arising from abortions that lawfully took place within its borders, and providing judicial protections by prohibiting law enforcement from cooperating with anti-abortion states’ investigations into abortions that appear to take place legally.
- 3.- S.9079B/A.9687B prohibits charges of professional misconduct against health professionals on the basis that said health professional, acting within his or her scope of practice, performed, recommended, or provided health care services. reproductive health for a patient who resides in a state where such services are legal.
- 4.-S.9080B/A.9718B prohibits medical malpractice insurance companies from taking adverse action against an abortion or reproductive health care provider who performs an abortion or provides reproductive health care that is legal in the state from New York to someone who is from another state.
- 5.- S.9384A/A.9818A allows reproductive health service providers, employees, volunteers, patients or direct family members of reproductive health service providers to enroll in the State’s address confidentiality program to protect themselves from the threats.
- 6.- S.470/A.5499 directs the commissioner of the New York State Department of Health to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant persons in New York and the impact of limited-service pregnancy centers. This ensures access to the information and resources needed to have healthy pregnancies with positive outcomes.
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