10
CityAndStateNY.com
May 9, 2022
State lawmakers have a couple packages of abortion bills to protect women and providers. By Sara Dorn
N
EW YORK’S GUBERNATORIAL candidates adhered to party lines in the wake of the release of the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate federally mandated abortion rights. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was “horrified” by the report. Republican candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin stuck to the narrative attacking the leaked report, while his primary opponent Andrew Giuliani expressed support for the expected ruling. “We have been fighting this battle for too long. I refuse to go backwards. I refuse to let my new granddaughter have to fight for the rights generations have fought for and won, rights that she should be guaranteed,” Hochul said in a statement. She vowed: “New York will always be a place where abortion rights are protected and where abortion is safe and accessible.” The draft decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito and first reported by Politico, would eliminate federally protected abortion rights established in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, putting the decision-mak-
ing in the hands of the state legislatures. In 2019, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act, which formally codified into state law the rights created by the Roe v. Wade ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion past 24 weeks of pregnancy or when the woman’s health or life are at risk. “Let me be clear: We’re not playing defense; we’re playing offense. So my message to women all across this country is that New York, the state of New York, will always be there for anyone who needs reproductive health care, including an abortion,” Hochul said during a press conference. State lawmakers protested the forthcoming decision alongside advocates in Foley Square on May 3. Legislators also pushed for passage of new bills that would enhance abortion access in New York and implement safeguards for providers as well as women who travel here from other states to have the procedure. New York has one of the most progressive records on abortion rights. Three years before Roe v. Wade, New York decriminalized the procedure and in the years that followed became a destination for women from other
PABLO MONSALVE/VIEWPRESS/GETTY IMAGES
New York’s forceful response to the Roe v. Wade draft opinion
