FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2018
Contact: Noah Gardy
E: [email protected]
C: (201) 218-6310
New York, NY – Citing their steadfast commitment to advancing reproductive health and rights, the National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund PAC (NIRH Action Fund PAC) today endorsed Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul for another term as Governor and Lt. Governor of New York, respectively. The endorsement comes amid the Trump Administration’s unprecedented assault on women’s access to reproductive care and his recent nomination of conservative, anti-abortion judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
“Our federal government is in the hands of anti-abortion extremists and New York needs leaders with a strong track record of fighting to expand access to abortion, contraception, and other reproductive care,” said Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund PAC. “Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul are proven champions for women’s health, rights, and equality. With their continued leadership, we can ensure New York is a bulwark against federal policies that seek to undermine women’s constitutional rights and deny us decision-making power over our own bodies. The future of reproductive rights is increasingly up to the states, and we need to re-elect Governor Cuomo and Lt. Governor Hochul to guarantee New York leads the charge in protecting and advancing reproductive freedom.”
Governor Cuomo has repeatedly demonstrated a dedication to strengthening women’s timely access to affordable reproductive health care. This year, he introduced the 2018 Women’s Opportunity Agenda, which included proposals to decriminalize abortion, ensure affordable access to contraception, and improve maternal mortality outcomes. Leveraging the full power of his office, he has acted even when the state Senate wouldn’t, issuing multiple sets of regulations not only increasing access to emergency contraception but also allowing doctors to instruct pharmacists to dispense up to 12 months of birth control at once and ensuring no-copay coverage of abortion – making New York the first state to do so. He has been a powerful and vocal leader against the increasing number of federal attacks on women’s reproductive rights, health, and equality, ensuring state agencies establish additional protections and support for reproductive health care while continuing to champion the Reproductive Health Act, a bill that would repeal unconstitutional prohibitions on abortion and move regulation of this care from the penal code to the public health code — most recently calling on the State Senate to return to Albany to pass it.
Lieutenant Governor Hochul has long used her elected roles to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. She was willing to risk her seat in Congress in order to advocate and vote for contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act, a move that ultimately cost her that seat. Most recently, she has taken the gavel of the State Senate to attempt to force the first-ever floor debate on the Reproductive Health Act. Lieutenant Governor Hochul has been an unwavering advocate and ally for women to have the right and access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including abortion and contraception, which is exactly what we need from our leaders in New York.
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The NIRH Action Fund PAC makes endorsements in New York State.