Governor Hochul: “We legalized the right to an abortion three years before Roe v. Wade. Again, ahead of our time. We’ll honor that legacy and that mantle of responsibility that is conferred on every one of us to do what we can to protect the women of our state, and where possible, protect those women in other states. We'll continue to be that beacon of hope. We'll always stand up because that's who we are. We fought this battle before. We shouldn't have to fight it again, but we will.”

Hochul: “Going forward, when a doctor, a provider, prescribes an FDA approved medication, like Mifepristone and Misoprostol to terminate a pregnancy, they're going to simply have the name of the health care practice on the label, rather than the name of the provider. This matters. This is one step — we can protect our doctors. But I want to go even further and protect doctors even more. That's why I'm announcing we’ve secured an agreement with the Legislature, that I'm hoping they will pass immediately, to ensure that pharmacies will adhere to these new labeling rules and make sure that they just include the practice address instead of the name of the practice at the request of the provider, if the provider wants that.”

Earlier on Feb 3rd, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to enable providers who prescribe medications used to perform abortions to request that the dispensing pharmacy print the name of their practice on prescription labels instead of their personal name. Despite attacks on reproductive rights from other states and the federal government, Governor Hochul affirmed her commitment that New York will remain a safe harbor for anyone seeking or providing reproductive health care.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will have photos of the event available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

?Good morning. It's been over two long years since the women of this country lost their constitutionally protected right to an abortion. The day Roe v. Wade was overturned, was surely a dark day in our nation's history. With an administration, the Trump administration, in Washington that has been antagonistic to women's rights, reproductive freedoms and health care providers. We're now witnessing, in real time, the consequences of that Trump Supreme Court and their decision, and now the collateral damage is so apparent. We used to take the right to an abortion for granted. But with the stroke of a pen, six individuals out of a population of more than 330 million decided to strip women of a right, a fundamental human right, the right to have access to an abortion, and in so doing, endangered the lives of millions of Americans.

As I said, “The damage now is real.” You think back, who wasn't moved, deeply moved, by the tragic story of Kate Cox, a young mother in Texas who was denied a life saving abortion and had to leave the state that she loved in order to get the care she needed? Without an abortion, she might never be able to bear children again. She wanted to be a mom, but things went wrong, and her state would not help her. There are countless heart wrenching stories of women who are denied reproductive health care. But it goes even deeper. Our own doctors are vulnerable in the post Roe v. Wade America.

That's why we're gathered here today with so many champions of women's rights. I want to thank all of them, all of our leaders who've come from the Legislature, our Assemblymembers, our Senators. I want to thank our speakers here today and our sponsor of the bill we're talking about, Senator Shelley Mayer. A tremendous champion. I want to thank her for her leadership on sponsoring this bill. Assemblymember Karines Reyes. Assemblymember, also the Co-chair of the New York State Bipartisan Pro Choice Legislative Caucus. I want to thank them. Also, Senator Liz Krueger, the other Co-chair of the Bipartisan Pro Choice Legislative Caucus. You'll also be hearing from Senator Michelle Hinchey, who has a personal connection to the doctor we'll be talking about today. And Julie Kay, thank you so much the Founder and Executive Director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

Again, all of our legislators are here today and I thank you for moving so quickly. Lawmakers in other states moved quickly as well in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, but what they did was they enacted more abortion restrictions. As soon as they were given that power, they couldn't wait to get back to their state legislatures and strip women of these rights, that had been something all of our lives we had known, especially the younger women – they knew nothing else but to have this right. And in other states, they didn't just pass these laws, they encouraged their citizens to turn on each other – report patients seeking care, but also the medical providers who assisted them.

In 2023, an Indiana doctor provided an abortion to a 10-year-old. A child was reprimanded, threatened, intimidated. And clinics have been set on fire and vandalized. Doctors have been stalked, some receiving death threats. And in deeply conservative states, they weaponized the courts against providers, in state and out.

And now we know they've tried to strip New York doctors of their medical licenses, sue them, throw them in jail, and even charge them with murder. I knew that swift action was required, that's why 11 days before the Dobbs decision, because the memo had been leaked, before the Dobbs decision in June of 2022, I stepped up, working with the Leaders behind me to sign a suite of bills, including SHIELD laws to protect doctors who treat out of state patients. Clearly stating that we will not cooperate with other states' lawsuits or criminal actions against them.

A year later, we went even further with the SHIELD law protecting doctors who provide abortion services via telemedicine. As other states turn to the dark ages, New York remains committed to being the light, a beacon for reproductive freedom. Providing abortion care by telehealth or mail can be a life saving intervention for people living in states where their most basic right to control their own bodies is denied. But Republicans' attacks on women's rights and reproductive health has not stopped.

Indeed now, with this new administration – they’re even more emboldened. So emboldened on Friday, a grand jury in Louisiana indicted a New York doctor for providing FDA approved medication. Abortion medication through the mail. Now this doctor simply responded to a cry for help. And in return, now faces a felony charge that subjects an individual to a prison term of up to five years. And fines as high as $50,000. Think about that. Five years in prison simply because you upheld your oath and delivered medical care. I immediately promised I would do everything I can to protect this doctor and others who provide such care to American women wherever they live.

I must stand up and protect our doctors, and our doctors have this right to do this.

I basically said, “There's no way in hell – they'll ever respond to a request to extradite this individual and face criminal charges.” Never, under any circumstances will I sign an extradition agreement that sends our doctor into harm's way to be prosecuted as a criminal for simply following her oath. I will.

Let's say it together. We will not now, not ever. Not now, not ever.

And you know how they found this doctor? The doctor's name was on the prescription bottle. The doctor’s name was on the prescription bottle. That's what they were looking for to identify this individual. After today, that will no longer happen. I'm about to sign another bill into law, introduced by our sponsors, that'll further protect New York brave providers.

Going forward, when a doctor, a provider prescribes an FDA approved medication, like Mifepristone and Misoprostol to terminate a pregnancy, they're going to simply have the name of the health care practice on the label, rather than the name of the provider. This matters. This is one step — we can protect our doctors. But I want to go even further and protect doctors even more.

That's why I'm announcing we’ve secured an agreement with the Legislature, that I'm hoping they will pass immediately, to ensure that pharmacies will adhere to these new labeling rules and make sure that they just include the practice address instead of the name of the practice at the request of the provider, if the provider wants that. Trying to have another level of protection for these doctors who are out there on the front lines, doing what they know is right, what they were trained to do. We must be there to support them. We must be their allies. We must be their army to protect them.

We're also requiring that notice be given to the patient that alternative labeling will be used. Other states, they want to target, harass, scare, intimidate doctors and patients. Now that may be okay in a place like Louisiana, maybe Indiana, but those are not our values here in the State of New York. No.

New Yorkers have always shown the way, the way for other paths forward. Even when other states turn away from progress and embrace a dark past, we press on. You know why? Because we are so proud that the women’s rights movement was founded here in our state. We legalized the right to an abortion three years before Roe v. Wade. Again, ahead of our time.

We’ll honor that legacy and that mantle of responsibility that is conferred on every one of us to do what we can to protect the women of our state, and where possible, protect those women in other states. We'll continue to be that beacon of hope. We'll always stand up because that's who we are. We fought this battle before. We shouldn't have to fight it again, but we will.

Think about my mother’s generation — had to fight for this right in the first place. My generation took it for granted, and now it’s not there for my daughter’s generation, and we damn well better get it back for my granddaughter's generation. That’s what we’re committed to doing here today.

So once again, the responsibility to act is upon us, and we are up for the task. The torch is once again in our hands, just like Lady Liberty. For 150 years that statue has stood there facing the world, offering a respite for those who are oppressed, those who yearn for freedom. We will continue to be that place of freedom — all freedoms, including reproductive freedom — a place where people can come to when their own freedom of choice, their freedom to make decisions about their body, have been denied, as well as the providers who are threatened in the process. Because, my friends, that is who we are as New Yorkers.

I'm proud to stand here today. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention, working together. Thank you, members of the Legislature, and we will get this done. Let me bring up a co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate, another great reproductive rights champion, our Senator, Senator Shelley Mayer.