On Eve of Dobbs Decision Anniversary, Governor Hochul Signs Legislation Strengthening Access to Reproductive Health Care

One year ago today, was the last day that the women of this country had a constitutionally protected right to an abortion. We stand here today on the eve of the anniversary of the date that Roe v. Wade was overturned. It was a dark day in our history. It was a day that most of us were reminded with dark stories we heard from each other, other women who came forward to talk about how before that right that we had taken for granted existed. So many lives were lost in back alleys.

It was a day that most of us will never forget. The day the Supreme Court with the stroke of a pen - six people out of a population of 332 million - decided to strip women of a right, a fundamental human right to have access to abortion, and in turn, endangered the lives of millions of American women.

Today, we're here in this incredible place, the New York Academy of Medicine. We're here on behalf of the millions of women, not just New York women, but women all across America, and I want to thank Dr. Ann Kurth, the President of the New York Academy of Medicine for hosting us here today and for her tireless advocacy to make sure that we are able to do what we're doing here today and signing important legislation. Dr. Kurth, please.

Dr. Linda Prine, the Co-Founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access, something that no one could have imagined a decade ago - telemedicine access for anything and you were a champion. You were someone who was a visionary, who saw the great potential to help women, not just here, but across this country. Let's give her a huge round of applause. Dr. Linda Prine.

The sponsor of the legislation that we'll be signing within a few minutes, I want to thank Senator Mayer, and Assemblymember Reyes for having the courage to stand up and say, "We can do better, that we can share the freedoms that we take for granted here in New York with women all across this country." And you'll be remembered for this legislation from a grateful nation, and I thank you for your leadership on this. Let's give them both a round of applause.

I also want to thank Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, whose district we're in. It's always great to acknowledge our host here as well. I know we have many other champions of these rights who have joined us, members of the State legislature, members of my cabinet. I thank them. I know they're acknowledged. And I want to make sure we never forget the people we're standing here on behalf of, women who that one year ago date made them fearful, furious.

I remember walking through a park in Brooklyn when it was first announced, and I think everyone knew that it was coming, but we had that timeframe where we thought that maybe, maybe we could turn the tide from that leaked memo about the Dobbs decision that shocked all of us. Maybe we could just get them to change their minds. Maybe this really won't happen in 2022 in the greatest country on this planet. Maybe it won't happen.

And then when it did, I walked through parks, and I literally held weeping young women in my arms who were so distraught at what had happened to a fundamental right that their grandmothers had fought for, that their mothers had fought for, they assumed would always be there for them and their children, and like that it was gone. They lost the fundamental right of control over their own bodies and indeed their own futures.

Over the last 12 months, extreme forces across this country have pushed so hard, not just satisfied with what they accomplished with the Supreme Court, but finding even more ways to strip away the rights of their constituents. So many people just wringing their hands. What can we do? Are there any options for us? Does this have to be our destiny? Well, here in New York, yes. Sometimes we have to play a good defense. We like our sports, but also, we're better at offense. We like when we have the ability to stand up and not let the extreme forces that are monopolizing the discourse in so many places in this great country, we're not letting them win. Not here, not in New York, not ever.

So, even before the Dobbs decision came down, I challenged my team and the legislature was busy at work as well. What immediate actions can we take in anticipation of what might happen? I pushed them hard to be bold, dream big, and we did, first of all, we knew more resources we needed, like that we reallocated $35 million more for our providers because we knew that so many women seeking a safe harbor in our State would be coming to our doors, and we did not want the providers overwhelmed. We knew we had to give them more resources. We also mandated that insurance companies in the State of New York cover abortion. That also made it accessible for so many more women.

We passed six laws and signed six laws all before even the Dobbs decision was rendered. And then since then we've doubled down in our State Budget this year. Again, my gratitude to the legislature, we added $100 million even more this year for our providers to make sure that they can expand and have more training and more resources so that right is never jeopardized in our State. That's what we're going to continue to do, but they haven't stopped in other states.

Since the Dobbs decision, abortion has been essentially outlawed in 14 states, 14 American states, Florida, one of the few places in the south where women could still get an abortion. Oh, they were so proud when they changed it so you had to be denied an abortion any time after six weeks. Who knows they're pregnant at six weeks? No one. No one. So basically, just saying that right is gone too. It's unconscionable.

I didn't know I was pregnant for the first three months with my kids. I was thinking about other things. Moms get busy, it's just absurd. And now they're coming after all forms of reproductive care. First of all, in Texas, we saw a MAGA extremist judge try to invalidate the FDA's 23-year approval of a widely used abortion drug. Like that one judge in Texas knows better than the FDA. I didn't think so. I don't think so.

And never before in our history have the courts revoked a decision made by these preeminent scientists and doctors who've done very well over time. So, when you think about it, stripping away the rights of an independent agency in Washington is not just an attack on women's rights, it is also getting at the fundamental basis of our democracy, the separation of powers.

But that being said, we knew women would be searching for help. And many have come here traveling miles and miles and miles. We have determined that the Society of Family Planning found that since Roe was overturned, hundreds more abortions have been performed here in the State of New York. We knew this was coming.

I saw this in Western New York where I'm from, the clinics there, Planned Parenthood. They were already seeing young women coming in from places like Ohio. We knew this day was coming and we had to be ready, and we were. But now laws in other states are turning people into bounty hunters, trying to hunt down women who've decided that I have to have an abortion. I can't get it into my state. I'm traveling to other states, and yet the long reach of the law in these states is trying to grab them and pull them back. My God. What has happened to this country? What has happened here? And they're talking about filing lawsuits in the private right of action. Like another individual should have some say in this?

You realize how absurd this is? So, they can file lawsuits against anyone that they suspect has had an abortion in another state. We saw it also in Indiana, still shocked that a doctor who was providing an abortion to a 10-year-old child, not even a pre-teenager, just still little kid, the doctor was reprimanded, threatened, intimidated.

And now, New York doctors who are providing abortions to out-of-state patients are being threatened as well. They want to strip them of their medical licenses, sue them, throw them in jail, even convict them of murder. Our own providers, our New York providers, are threatened by other states, Governors, law enforcement officials. This is New York. We don't respond well to threats, so last year, we passed our first Shield law that would protect New York state providers from these outrageous, outrageous charges. We protected them a year ago. So, if you're a health healthcare provider who provides an in-person abortion to someone to another state, that state can't touch you because they have to get through me first.

Today, we're talking about taking one step further, closing a loophole, or actually expanding those protections, because right now more than half of the abortions are done with medication. Less trauma, less stress, no travel, leaving your kids that you already have. The cost of hotels and airplanes and travel, it's time away from work. So, extremist lawmakers in other states can stop their health care providers from supplying abortion pills. That's your state. I feel sorry for your constituents. But they can't stop us. They can't stop our providers. They can't stop New York, and that's how we're fighting back.

So, today, I'm really proud to be able to sign, days after its passage by the leaders I just referenced, I'll sign a new Shield law to protect New Yorkers who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states where abortion is outlawed. This means if you're in another state, law enforcement, you want to prosecute, penalize, sue one of our healthcare providers who prescribed abortion medication? You want to do all that? We're not going to help you. We're not going to cooperate with out-of-state investigations. We're not going to expedite; we're not going to issue subpoenas. So, you can continue, hell-bent down your path on continuing this radical behavior, but we'll be just as hell-bent in stopping you. This is New York.

So, other states will target, harass and scare doctors and patients. Here in New York, we're protecting their rights. And we know this is going to ease the burden on women all across this country. We've had patients from so far away, even as far as Texas come here. And in Pennsylvania it's legal, but there's long wait lists because they're closer to other states where it's denied.

So, we're here. We're here to say we're a different state. Our Shield laws will protect people. And I want to thank pioneers, champions, barrier breakers among our health care profession. And I'm talking about two extraordinary individuals - Dr. Linda Prine and Dr. Maggie Carpenter are here with us, here today. Let's give them another round of applause.

Both of them, they have been champions at a time when our country was looking for champions. And we'll never forget what you've done to bring this out into the spotlight. The ease of this methodology and how it should be available to people everywhere. And you've protected the rights of women all across America. That's something to be really proud of. You've told me, "Governor, the second you sign this legislation, we're going to start prescribing these pills." And we are minutes away from that.

It's bold, but New Yorkers have always been bold, always champions of the movements before their time, and showing other states the path forward. This does not have to be limited to the great State of New York. Follow us. Come to your senses. Know that these are basic rights that women in distress shouldn't have to think about.

It's America. Don't forget that because we're better than that. We're better than what's happening to our country. And New York will always be that beacon of hope. We'll always stand up because that's who we are. So, we've already fought this battle. We should not have to fight it again, but we're ready. We're ready for battle. We'll roll up our sleeves, suit up for war and take it on again in the hopes that someday, our granddaughters, my little granddaughter, will never ever have to question her right to control her own body.

One year ago, when we had our rallies and we were so outraged over the decision, I evoked the image of the Statue of Liberty standing tall in our harbor, our safe harbor. And for 150 years, that statue has stood there facing out to the oceans, telling people, "You're seeking freedom from oppression? This is where you come."

And in these times, Lady Liberty also has to turn inward to our own country, to women who are oppressed, searching for freedom in our own country. So today after we sign this into law, Lady Liberty will have more than a torch in her hand. She'll have a shield in her hand. She'll have a shield in her hand and say, "This is how we protect the rights of not just New Yorkers, but all Americans."

It will always be a safe harbor, always be that place of refuge, always continue to enshrine the values that we hold dearest as New Yorkers - and that is the right to freedom. Thank you very much for joining us here today. I'm really proud to bring up our speaker, Shelley Mayer, to talk about how she got this through the Senate in such a short time and we're able to make this difference right here, right now. New Yorkers, this is what we're doing. And thank you all for being part of making history right here in New York. Thank you.

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