New York Democrats are aiming to transform the Empire State into a national safe haven for abortions following the leak of a draft decision by the US Supreme Court striking down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

“There’ll be some combination of legislative solutions as well as executive actions so stay tuned,” Hochul said at a Tuesday press conference in Albany.

Outstanding bills before the state Legislature could pave the way for:

• State-supported abortions for out-of-state residents.
• Requiring New York insurers to cover the practice.
• And barring cops from helping out-of-state investigators in abortion-restricting or banning states.

“It is an outrage the Supreme Court is poised to reverse the rights of women in this country,” Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. 

“Everything has to be on the table,” she added.

Democrats enshrined abortion rights into state law soon after winning control of the state Senate in a 2018 wave election that also gave them a majority in the US House.

“During the debate to enact this commonsense legislation, many of our colleagues across the aisle told us that such a law was not necessary – that reproductive rights were not at risk. They were disingenuous. They were wrong. And I am thankful that we did not listen,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Westchester) said in a press release. 

The political landscape appears much more difficult for Democrats this November when Republicans have hopes of winning their first statewide election in two decades while eating away at the Democratic supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly in addition to expected gains in Congress and other states.

Republicans in red states like Texas have passed laws restricting abortion rights in anticipation of a favorable Supreme Court ruling despite the dangers of giving Democrats a formidable talking point in blue states like New York where polls have consistently shown abortion rights in line with Roe are backed by a majority of voters. 

“We are the last line of defense,” Stewart-Cousins, who is chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee dedicated to helping Democrats win statehouses across the country, said of the state Legislature.

Neither Stewart-Cousins nor Hochul, who had two pro-choice events scheduled in Albany Tuesday evening, gave specifics about what pro-choice actions they want to take before the scheduled end of the 2022 legislative session on June 2, but outstanding bills suggest what Democrats aim to get done in upcoming weeks.

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Long Island) would create legal barriers for investigators from states that criminalize abortion. 

“We will not sit passively as states with authoritarian governments enact laws suppressing human rights.  With more than 20 states passing such damaging laws in the last months, the people of the State of New York will not enable and empower those repressive and authoritarian regimes,” Lavine said in a statement.

Another bill, sponsored by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx) and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes (D-Bronx) would create a special fund, which New Yorkers could donate to, dedicated to helping women from other states come to New York to receive reproductive health care. 

“Given states and the federal government’s hostility toward abortion, it is particularly critical that New York continue this legacy by enacting legislation that codifies in statute the requirement that private insurers cover abortion,” reads the legislative memo to a third bill, introduced by state Sen. Samra Brouk (D-Rochester), that currently lacks a sponsor in the Assembly.  

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who is running against Hochul in the Democratic primary for governor, has indicated his support for such ideas while the exact positions of rival candidate Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island) on the proposals remains unclear.

“As governor, I will ensure that NYS is a safe haven for women in other states who can’t find the healthcare they need,” Suozzi said in a statement.

A 2019 poll even showed a plurality of New York Republicans are pro-choice – but Rep. Lee Zeldin, the putative frontrunner for the GOP nomination for governor recently said that appointing a pro-life state health commissioner would be a “great idea” if elected governor. 

Hochul and other Democrats are looking to use an expected Supreme Court decision against GOP candidates up and down the ballot as they continue efforts to move past a litany of scandals, including the resignations of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and ex-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.

“We will be continuing to be loud and strong,” Stewart-Cousins said Tuesday. “As the erosion of rights continues to happen on a national basis, New Yorkers will know that we will be a place where women … can depend on getting the health care they need.”