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New York to provide $35M to abortion providers, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 10, 2022
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Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 10, 2022
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New York will direct $35 million to health care providers in an effort to expand access to abortion procedures and bolster security at clinics, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
Hochul, the first woman to serve as governor, said the state will create a dedicated Abortion Provider Support Fund in the wake of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving New York providers bracing for an influx of women from states where abortion could soon be outlawed.
The Democratic governor said the state intends to make the funding available by the time the Supreme Court finalizes its decision. The move adds to a growing list of actions by the state Legislature on abortion rights, which include the introduction of bills to expand access.
“There’s a lot of anxiety, and we don’t know what’s going to happen, but we have to prepare for any scenario,” Hochul said.
Read More: What a fight for abortion rights could mean for Hochul and New York Democrats
Of the $35 million commitment, $25 million will go directly toward the fund expanding access to abortion in the state, including grants and reimbursements, Hochul said. The remaining $10 million will go toward providing more security at reproductive health centers themselves.
Hochul’s announcement came a day after state Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic lawmakers called on the state to create a similar, $50 million fund.
Hochul, who tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, made the announcement virtually from the Executive Mansion in Albany, where she is isolating. Abortion, she said, is a “human right.”
“We will defend that right to have an abortion with the full power of New York state government,” the governor said.
The funding announcement comes a month after Hochul and state lawmakers finalized the state budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which runs through March 31.
But the $25 million in grants and reimbursements for providers will come from the state Department of Health’s "emergency fund," which has already been allocated and is not subject to further legislative approval, according to Hochul. “I would consider this an emergency,” she said.
As it stands, that fund -- which is for "services and expenses ... related to emergency assistance distributions as designated by the commissioner of health" -- has only $2.9 million in it. But Shams Tarek, a spokesperson for the state Division of the Budget, said the division will grant authority to move additional money in, though he didn't immediately say where that money would be coming from.
The $10 million in security funding, meanwhile, will come from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, according to Hochul's office.
Hochul was joined virtually at Tuesday’s announcement by pro-abortion rights lawmakers and advocates, including Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health.
Miller called the $35 million a “down payment.”
“Together, we’re working to not only protect access to abortion care, but to make it more accessible to anyone who needs it,” she said.
The creation of the new fund drew criticism from the New York State Catholic Conference, whose executive director, Dennis Poust, dismissed it as “a grave misuse of state resources and an insult to millions of pro-life New Yorkers" in a statement.
"Inviting women from out of state to come here to abort their unborn children is a breathtaking reminder of how far our culture has fallen," Poust added.
The article has been updated to include more details on the emergency fund.
Tagged
abortion
new york
roe v. wade
Kathy Hochul
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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