On Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, delighted that the New York legislature passed the Reproductive Health Act which would allow mothers to kill (pardon me, abort) their babies up until birth, celebrated this legalized murder by ordering that the spire at One World Trade Center, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, the Kosciuszko Bridge and the Alfred E. Smith Building in Albany all be lit in pink on Tuesday night.
Cuomo chortled, “The Reproductive Health Act is a historic victory for New Yorkers and for our progressive values. In the face of a federal government intent on rolling back Roe v. Wade and women’s reproductive rights, I promised that we would enact this critical legislation within the first 30 days of the new session – and we got it done. I am directing that New York’s landmarks be lit in pink to celebrate this achievement and shine a bright light forward for the rest of the nation to follow.”
Cuomo also said on Tuesday, “It’s bittersweet. There is a bitterness because we shouldn’t be here in the first place. We should not have a federal government that is trying to roll back women’s rights … This administration defies American evolution.”
Cuomo has been a long-standing champion of murdering the unborn and contemptuous of those people who are pro-life, saying they had “no place in the state of New York.” In 2014, he blustered that the reason for gridlock in his state was a “schism” within the Republican Party, snapping:
It’s more about extreme Republicans versus moderate Republicans. You’re seeing that play out in New York. … The Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act — it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate. Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.
Cuomo said earlier this month that he wanted to enshrine the capacity to abortion at any time into the state constitution, saying, “I want to pass a constitutional amendment that writes into the constitution a provision protecting a woman’s right to control her own reproductive health, We’ll pass it next year; we’ll put it onto the ballot; we’ll write it into the constitution …” He also stated, “I have no doubt that Gorsuch is going to reverse Roe v. Wade. So what do we do? Protect ourselves. Pass a law that is a prophylactic to federal action.”
According to the New York State Department of Health, 87,325 abortions took place in New York state during 2016. According to The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were 93,096 abortions in New York during 2015. The Guttmacher Institute reported that there were roughly 119,940 abortions in New York during 2014.
Business Insider reported in February 2017 that New York had 95 abortion clinics, the second most of any state in the nation. Only California, with 152, had more.
Photos of the World Trade Center here.