If you didn’t already know, Florida is among a growing number of states putting some pretty strict restrictions on abortion. Just as unsurprisingly, New York’s liberal governor, Kathy Hochul, has now promised to be a “safe harbor” for Floridian women seeking such procedures.
The invitation came on Monday evening, just hours after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that abortions should continue to be banned in the state for women after 15 weeks of pregnancy, the time at which it is believed that unborn babies can begin to feel pain.
This in and of itself is rather influential and a huge win for the pro-life movement in Florida. But it also means another abortion law, and an even more restrictive one, can now go into effect.
As the Tampa Bay Times reported, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in April 2023 that made abortions after six weeks of gestation illegal. Now, to be clear, the law does make a number of exceptions, including for pregnancies that are a result of rape, incest, or human trafficking.
Hochul is not a fan of either new law, as was made apparent by her invitation.
For starters, she called the Florida laws “disgraceful and dangerous.” Then she promised Florida’s women that “New York will be your safe harbor.”
Florida’s plan to implement a six-week abortion ban is disgraceful and dangerous.
Let me be clear: If you need care, New York will be your safe harbor.
We refuse to go backwards.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) April 1, 2024
In her home state, Hochul has helped to facilitate practically no restrictions on abortion whatsoever.
According to state law, abortions for any reason are allowed up to 24 weeks. At this stage, an unborn child has a fully formed face, lunges, and even taste buds. They also can usually survive outside of the womb.
However, NY law also says it’s ok for an abortion to take place after this point, should it be “necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.” that might sound good at the onset. But the term “health” here is never defined, meaning it has been twisted numerous times to ensure an abortion takes place.
Basically, it’s a license for any abortion at any stage and for any reason.
And as a number of social media users pointed out, that is the real “disgraceful and dangerous” law.
Saving babies is moving forward!
— Antone (@Antone1956) April 2, 2024
According to the X platform alone, virtually all of the 1.8k responses to Hochul’s post condemned her point of view.
The list goes on and on…
And given that this is an election year, that’s not a good sign for Democrats or New York.
