Governor Hochul: "We're here to continue the fight. We're undaunted. We're tough. We are New Yorkers, and we will not back down, not now, not ever. And leaders, just like they did here against the tides of popular sentiment, stood up here in Judson Memorial Church. You are the inspiration that we need, even all these years later in 2022 to carry on the work and to be the change makers, just like the suffragettes who came before and the civil rights leaders and the LGBTQ movement that started right here."
Hochul: "We don't give up because we'll fight, we'll fight like hell to make sure that no one ever touches these rights right here. And we'll be that beacon of hope. We'll be that safe harbor for women all across this nation. It starts at the providers and the grants that we have for them to do their jobs and any way we can support you, you can count on us."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $13.4 million awarded in the second round of the Abortion Provider Support Fund to 37 providers, covering 64 clinical sites to further expand access to abortion services in New York. The second round of funding builds on the Governor's commitment to ensure safe abortion access for all New Yorkers by expanded eligibility to include family planning providers that were not awarded funding during phase one, other licensed healthcare providers, and independent clinics.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:
Good morning. This is the next stop on the journey to let the nation know that this is the State of New York, and we will protect a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion. It's happening here in our state. To Abigail and Jacqueline, thank you for sharing that story, that history, that shows the courage of the early congregants of Judson Memorial at a time when abortion was actually illegal in the State of New York. It became legal three years ahead of Roe v. Wade, but this was 1967, three years before it was legal even in our state. That is the courage of these social justice actions taken by churches all across America, whether it was the right for civil rights, the rights for women's rights, or rights to women's autonomy over their bodies. So, I commend you and to everyone involved in this congregation for inspiring us and letting us know that God is out there on our side as we continue to make sure that women have the rights that are God-given rights, as you mentioned. Thank you very much.
We're also delighted to have here our Congressman, Jerry Nadler, joining us once again, a true champion on women's issues. Our Senator, Brad Hoylman, taking it to the streets all the time, fighting these fights for his district. Deborah Glick, one of our great champions in the assembly on these issues, representing this district. Borough President Mark Levine has joined us as well. Here, these are all your in-district representatives, but this issue is much larger than this district, which is why I'm really proud that we've been joined by other Members of the Assembly. Harvey Epstein has joined us. Thank you very much, Harvey, for being here. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas has joined us. Jessica. Jo Anne Simon is here. Jo Anne Simon. Rebecca Seawright, Assemblymember. Did I miss anybody? Jennifer, we saw you last night at Diwali. So I think I see you more than I see my own family. That's okay. So thank you again for last night's great celebration, but also for reminding us the presence of light in our lives. And at that Diwali celebration, we talked about how light does prevail over darkness. And while there has been a dark pall cast over our nation in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, let that light continue to shine right here in the State of New York.
I believe I've captured everyone. We're also going to be hearing from Dr. Camille Clare. Senator Jackson. Senator Jackson, thank you. Thank you so much. Dr. Camille Clare is the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at SUNY Downstate. We'll be hearing from her in a couple of minutes as well. And I want to thank everyone who has come out this morning. Yes, this Judson Memorial, this location has been a beacon for women seeking hope, seeking freedom, seeking just options. And I thank all of you for continuing this. And as you mentioned, you know, as I mentioned, we have been way ahead of the curve here, and I mentioned 1970 at the time, we are one of the few states in the nation that realized that women should have rights of their own body. And at the time, over 400,000 women had to travel all across the nation to come here to the State of New York. That was part of our DNA, it's part of our history. And they came here because they had nowhere else to turn until the protections afforded by Roe v. Wade, a few years later. And they looked at that Statue of Liberty standing at our harbor as it's always stood, welcoming people who are oppressed in search of freedoms and her torch was held high welcoming people back then.
Today that statue still stands as a reminder of our responsibility to the rest of the nation, indeed, the rest of the world when others are seeking freedom because freedom has been under assault since that decision. And we'll always be that safe harbor. And I've met many, many New Yorkers. I go to farmer's markets, I walk the streets, walk streets of Manhattan every day. I walk - I'll be in Brooklyn tomorrow, Bronx - I'm all over the place. Queens, Staten Island. Should I start naming all 62 counties? Shouldn't head down that path, but I'm out there a lot. I'm not isolated in an office. And I'm still struck by the fact that in Union Square, just a couple of days after the decision came down, a young woman just came and threw her arms around my neck and literally just started sobbing. She just said, "I never thought it would happen to us." Well, it did, and New York State even in anticipation of that decision, weeks before it came down, we knew we had to stand up and be strong. Show the courage that we all associate with New Yorkers, let them know that we will not be deterred. I've had, also, the opportunity to meet some extraordinary people. The providers who've been under assault, literally under assault, sometimes physical attacks on their buildings, social media attacks, mainly. The stress on our reproductive health providers, our doctors, our nurses, our volunteers, our administrators has been extraordinary. And what they do is nothing short of heroic. They're on the frontlines, providing compassionate care to people who come through that door because of all the challenges they faced.
And these frontline providers need tools. They needed us to step up the way they're stepping up. And that is why back in May, before the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, we announced the Abortion Provider's Support Fund because we knew we could do it here. It's the largest of its kind in the nation, and we put $25 million directly toward providers, to help them be ready for, what we anticipated would happen, which did happen, that more people would be coming from out of state in search of these services. So the first $10 million went to 13 organizations operating 63 clinics across the state. We did that back in July, and many of you were there. And at the time, I announced the timing for the next tranche, and today I'm proud to announce $13.4 million of grants going to abortion providers. Fifty new organizations, and collectively, they operate 127 clinics together. And these are from Long Island to the City, all the way up onto Buffalo. And they include hospital-based providers, independent clinics, as well as many who are receiving state assistance for the very first time because the need is that dire. And so, we're going to continue bolstering their services, because if you guarantee a right to an abortion, you have to guarantee access to that right. And that's exactly what this is about.
So, as much as we're here to talk about what we're doing for New York State and our providers, and that's critically important, we're facing the grim reality of what's happening to our sisters across this nation. Just last week, the report came out, in 66 clinics in 15 states have entirely stopped providing abortion services since Roe was overturned. It's had major, major implications for people. Just imagine the trauma. You saw the early stories of children having to be sent to other states. Or people having to travel across many state lines just in just to save their lives in some cases, or just to stop a 14-year-old from becoming a parent. That 14-year-old is not old enough to drive. That 14-year-old cannot have a drink. That 14-year-old cannot adopt a child. But to think, that despite what they want, the government would force a child to become a parent is disgraceful. And that's not just hyperbole, that's not saying, "Oh my gosh, the sky is falling." The sky fell on that day, and it's affected women and children, teenagers across this nation. We are seeing in Queens, we just talked to one of our providers there. They had a huge increase, people coming from all over the state. We knew it was happening. We knew it was happening. We were ready for it. And I said, "We'll always, always be the place that people can come to and allow people to make their own decisions."
And I'm so glad I have allies in the state legislature. I have allies, and I have also allies in a Health Commissioner. And let me be clear, it makes a difference on whether or not your Health Commissioner stands with you philosophically and to the core the belief that women have a right to make their own health determination. Dr. Mary Bassett does that. But with our legislature as great partners, we're finally on the journey to enshrine the rights to reproductive freedom to an abortion in our state constitution. It's a journey. It passes the state legislature. Not once, but twice. It goes on the ballot, but the journey has finally begun. We also mandated insurance companies in the State of New York have to cover abortions. I signed a package of six bills to protect our providers because we have vigilantism going on out there where people, especially from other states, where they've said that someone can be prosecuted, charged with murder if they assist an abortion of one of their residents. So, I needed to send a message loud and clear that our providers in the State of New York will not be extradited. We are protecting you and will make sure that there's no barriers to you doing the work that you've chosen to do, and we're grateful you are there.
We also launched a public relations campaign because right now the rights of millions of women across this country are in the hands of just a few states. If you don't think it matters, who your leaders are in your states and in your state legislature, that is the wakeup call. That is the wakeup call because often a matter of life and death for the mother as well. But we're here to continue the fight. We're undaunted. We're tough. We are New Yorkers, and we will not back down, not now, not ever. And leaders, just like they did here against the tides of popular sentiment, stood up here in Judson Memorial Church. You are the inspiration that we need, even all these years later in 2022 to carry on the work and to be the change makers, just like the suffragettes who came before and the civil rights leaders and the LGBTQ movement that started right here. All of you, the doctors, the advocates, the champions, the elected officials will look back at this time and know, will be able to tell your children and grandchildren: I stood up. I stood up against what was happening, the assault on women's lives.
You carry the torch that has been passed to all of us. It's our responsibility. It's our moral responsibility to continue to fight. So yes, as sad as it is that a fight that became an earnest during my mother's early years as a young mother up in Buffalo, a right that I took for granted, that my daughter took for granted, my little granddaughter, Sophia, cannot take for granted. And I never foresaw a world where this would happen. That is the reality we're living with right now. But we don't give up. We don't give up because we'll fight, we'll fight like hell to make sure that no one ever touches these rights right here. And we'll be that beacon of hope. We'll be that safe harbor for women all across this nation. It starts at the providers and the grants that we have for them to do their jobs, and any way we can support you, you can count on us. Count on New York to be there for all of you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you.
With that, let me bring up Dr. Mary Bassett.