'A safe harbor': Hochul vows New York will provide abortion services for out-of-state patients

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York would prepare for an influx of abortion cases if Roe v. Wade is struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and would ask the federal government for financial help, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday.

The state already leads the nation in abortions per 1,000 women, federal records show, and Hochul vowed that New York, with its strong abortion-rights laws, would protect those who visit to get help.

"We fully anticipate people will travel here," Hochul, the state's first woman governor, said on MSNBC. "But it is so unfortunate that this even has to be the situation where people have to flee their own homes, flee their families, just to get a basic human right."

Since POLITICO on Monday reported on an initial draft majority opinion that would overturn the landmark 1973 decision, Hochul and leading Democrats in New York have been discussing new ways to bolster a 2019 state law that codified Roe, including adding a constitutional amendment.

New York law allows for abortion in the first 24 weeks of a pregnancy or when the fetus is not viable. It also permits abortions after 24 weeks, but only when a person's life or health is threatened.

"We want people to feel like this is a safe harbor," Hochul said. "This is a fundamental right under assault. Come to New York. This is the birthplace of the women’s rights movement. We’re very proud of that. And as the first woman governor, I govern the largest population of any state run by a woman."

Roughly half of the states would be poised to ban or severely restrict abortions if Roe is overturned, but New York and other blue states would likely become places where people who seek abortions would travel to safely and legally terminate a pregnancy.

Hochul said New York first passed abortion rights in 1970 and even then it led to about 200,000 people coming to New York for abortions before the federal ruling three years later.

The Democratic governor also urged Washington leaders to consider additional aid to New York if abortion cases were to increase in the state.

"This is a place where the Biden administration can help us financially. We would appreciate that support because this is going to be an enormous cost to us," Hochul said.

Hochul is seeking a full term this year, and she has quickly made abortion rights a top issue of her campaign, releasing new ads on the issue this week.

"Abortion is on the ballot now — seismic shift in people’s attitudes and what’s at stake on Election Day," she said on MSNBC.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, (R-N.Y.), one of the top GOP gubernatorial candidates, is anti-abortion, but has argued that voters will care more about rising crime rates and economic issues at the polls.

“[Hochul] is so completely out of touch with the issues that voters right now are saying are their top issues in this state,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We lead the entire country in population loss, and if she were truly listening to the people, she would be talking about all the ways we can make our streets and subways safer, how to make a dollar go further and make life in New York more affordable.”