Gov. Hochul awards additional $13.4 million to increase access to abortion services in New York
ALBANY — New York is doling out an additional $13.4 million to bolster access to abortion services in the state, Gov. Hochul announced on Wednesday.
It is the second time the Empire State has released money from the recently created Abortion Provider Support Fund in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announces an additional $13.4 million awarded in the second round of the Abortion Provider Support Fund on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 in Manhattan, New York. (Don Pollard/)
The money will go to 37 providers and cover 64 clinical sites in New York, with a focus on areas where women may come from out of state to seek treatment, as abortion access is being restricted in many conservative-run states across the U.S.
“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,” Hochul said as she made the announcement at the Judson Memorial Church near Washington Square Park. “And we’ll be that beacon of hope. We’ll be that safe harbor for women all across this nation.
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“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,” she added.
Of the new awardees, 20 are hospitals, and a total of 27 of the 37 providers are in areas considered high-priority regions where women from out of state are expected to seek services, including clinics in the city and parts of Western New York, according to the governor’s office.
Hochul first unveiled the $25 million in funding back in May after a leaked opinion signaled the conservative-led Supreme Court’s looming decision to overturn Roe.
The first round of $10 million was awarded in July. The bulk of the money went toward organizations funded under the Comprehensive Family Planning Program, which delivers family planning and reproductive health services to low-income and uninsured New Yorkers.
The state has taken several other steps to safeguard abortion access, especially for women seeking care coming from out of state, including new laws expanding legal protections for service providers and barring medical misconduct charges for performing reproductive health care.
Lawmakers also took the first step toward enshrining abortion access and LGBTQ rights in the state’s constitution back in July.
The proposal amends the state constitution’s Equal Protection Amendment by prohibiting discrimination based on national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex, including reproductive healthcare and autonomy as well as “pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes.”
The constitutional change will have to be approved again during the next legislative session, which begins in January, before going before voters.
