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NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — New York’s pro-abortion Democrat governor Kathy Hochul called pro-lifers “Neanderthals” on Monday as she signed six new laws to protect abortion on demand in the Empire State in the event the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision which established a federal “right to abortion” throughout all 50 states.
During a live-streamed signing ceremony June 13, the self-professed Catholic governor used apocalyptic language to describe the potential reversal of the federal “right to abortion.”
“My friends, the sky is literally on the verge of falling in the next week or two and that’s why we are here today,” Hochul said.
With the future of Roe v. Wade in jeopardy, we’re taking action to ensure New York remains a safe harbor for any person who needs an abortion — and the six bills I signed today do just that.
I refuse to go backwards, and as long as I’m governor, New York won’t. pic.twitter.com/jmwWTWqoQR
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) June 13, 2022
“This is the United States of America, where freedom and liberty are supposed to mean something,” continued the governor, who upon taking office maintained many of the draconian coronavirus mandates instituted by her predecessor Andrew Cuomo.
Hochul went on to accuse pro-life advocates of being “Neanderthals” for seeking to prevent the legal murder of unborn infants.
“It’s the rock upon which we were founded. It’s supposed to mean something except in the eyes of some Neanderthals, who think women are not entitled to those rights,” Hochul said.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision any day in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which concerns Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks gestation. Following the unprecedented leak of a draft majority opinion in the case, many anticipate the Court will rule in favor of Mississippi’s right to limit abortion by fully overturning both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) which upheld Roe.
READ: Leaked majority opinion shows Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade
“The right to control our own bodies is supposed to be settled by now, or so we thought,” Hochul added during the signing ceremony. The governor said the new laws are meant “to immediately protect abortion access and reproductive rights.”
In a June 13 tweet, Hochul added that her “message to those who are trying to take away the fundamental right to an abortion” is: “Not here. Not now. Not ever.”
This is my message to those who are trying to take away the fundamental right to an abortion: Not here. Not now. Not ever.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) June 13, 2022
READ: New York legislature passes bill to investigate pro-life pregnancy centers for not doing abortions
Measures included in Hochul’s pro-abortion package include laws to promote abortion tourism by blocking New York courts from issuing subpoenas or extraditing abortionists in connection with out-of-state pro-life laws, Politico reported.
Other measures will shore up legal protections for people seeking to obtain abortions and sex-change procedures within New York, “prohibit disciplinary measures against health practitioners for providing legal reproductive health services to patients who reside in states where abortion is illegal; bar medical malpractice insurance companies from taking any adverse action against a reproductive health care provider who performs legal reproductive health care; and increase confidentiality for abortion providers and patients,” the outlet reported.
Kristen Curran, director of government relations for the New York State Catholic Conference, told Politico the laws will “encourage abortion tourism, rather than helping women and children who may be in need.”
“As a state that claims to value autonomy and choice, New York should stop presenting abortion as the best and only option for struggling women, and harassing any pro-life pregnancy center that may help women keep their babies. This abortion-or-nothing narrative only demeans women,” Curran said.
Hochul’s moves to promote unfettered abortion in the event that the Supreme Court overturns 49 years of abortion precedent comes as many Republican-led states have moved in the opposite direction. It’s estimated that roughly half of all states will ban or severely restrict abortion if Roe v. Wade falls, leading states on both sides of the abortion issue to take an oppositional legal posture toward one another.
READ: Republican governors, lawmakers pushing for more pro-life laws in anticipation of SCOTUS ruling
Last year, Gov. Hochul took aim at Texas’ life-saving Heartbeat Act – which bans most abortions in the state – declaring that abortion will always be protected and easily accessible in the Empire State.
According to Hochul, New York’s “Lady Liberty” will be ready to “welcome” Texas women seeking abortions “with open arms.”
In March 2021, President Joe Biden used the phrase “Neanderthal thinking” when criticizing governors beginning to lift mask mandates.
In 2014, Hochul’s predecessor Cuomo said of pro-lifers, “they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”