At a time when the battle over abortion is boiling over, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) made a proclamation that is turning conservatives’ heads.
Hochul, who, on June 13, signed a legislative package aimed at protecting “abortion and reproductive rights for all,” went out of her way during a same-day address at the Great Hall of Cooper Union in New York City to demean individuals who take a pro-life position.
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“This is the United States of America, where freedom and liberty are supposed to mean something,” Hochul said. “It’s the rock upon which we were founded. It is supposed to mean something. Except in the eyes of some neanderthals who say women are not entitled to those rights.”
The governor warned that the “sky is on the verge of falling” as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision — a verdict that could overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which legalized abortion nationwide.
Hochul said she once thought Roe’s potential obliteration was “far-fetched” and initially said she was praying “there’s a change of heart” after a leaked draft of Dobbs indicated the Supreme Court could likely overturn Roe.
Watch Hochul’s “neanderthals” comment at the 9:40 mark:
Hochul also decried a “persistent assault on women’s rights and women’s right to determine … decisions about her own body.”
“Not here, not now, not ever,” Hochul said to applause. “The women of New York will never be subjugated to government-mandated pregnancies.”
She took legislative action this month to ensure abortion persists in New York regardless of what happens at the Supreme Court, enacting laws that enshrine and protect abortion rights.
Legislation S.9077A/A.10372A is among the laws that aim to “provide certain legal protections for abortion service providers, those who assist someone else in obtaining an abortion, or individuals who self-manage an abortion.”
Under this law, courts would not be able to cooperate with out-of-state criminal and civil cases that take place legally within state borders, among other parameters. Read more here.
Hochul’s comments about pro-life Americans being “neanderthals” are particularly problematic, as they come at a time when tensions have sparked worries about the safety of Supreme Court justice and have led to attacks on pro-life centers and churches across the U.S., including one in Buffalo, New York.
One man has been accused of trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, purportedly, in part, due to the Dobbs leak. And, as Faithwire previously reported, the Gresham Pregnancy Resource Center in Oregon is among the deeply-affected pro-life clinics.
The building was lit ablaze on June 11 by unknown vandals after an incendiary was thrown through one of the clinic’s windows. At least one room at the center is destroyed, with water and smoke damage likely throughout. Read more about that story here.
It seems some are dialing up the rhetoric at a time when prayer and calmness should prevail.
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