“My friends, the sky is on the verge of falling.” That was how New York governor Kathy Hochul went about her abortion-fest multiple bill signings a week or so ago at Cooper Union in New York. She talked about “the persistent assault” on women’s abortion rights.
“Not here. Not now. Not ever.”
“The women of New York will never be subjugated to government-mandated pregnancies. Because that is what will ensue if Roe v. Wade is overturned.”
“New York has always been a beacon for those yearning to be free. And I want the world to hear — loud and clear — that will not change.”
“This is the United States of America, where freedom and liberty are supposed to mean something.”
Abortion rights are the “rock upon which we were founded.”
I have Hochul’s abortion extravaganza in mind because during a brief trip between Philadelphia and New York and back, I noticed a night of rage planned for New York, gathering in Washington Square Park the night of the Dobbs decision — tonight. Forgive me the harsh language, but this is what some of us encounter and more when we pray outside abortion clinics in New York.
Immediately upon seeing that, I thought of the reckless, overwrought rhetoric of the governor of New York. As someone who has been among those who have needed police protection to pray, I expect more sense from someone in public office.
There has been bipartisan outrage over January 6, and rightfully so. How about people who support abortion with wild enthusiasm insist that anyone who does violence in the name of abortion will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law?
For about a year now, there have been protests of prayer outside abortion clinics fairly consistently here in New York. They call us clinic harassers for standing across the street from Planned Parenthood in Manhattan praying for an end to abortion. Now, the Jane’s Revenge domestic-terrorism threats raise the question of what our monthly prayer vigils are going to look like after the Dobbs decision. Besides the evil of the violence, two little points: When you attack a pregnancy center or a church, you are attacking people and places that help women. Many of the women’s care centers run on pennies. You’d be amazed at how they often make sure a little goes a long way. And in New York State, abortions will not end with the end of Roe. In fact, I am not alone in expecting that we will have more abortions, not less. Our governor wants us to be an abortion destination, and she’s as extreme as they come on abortion — as witnessed by her recent abortion-bills-signing extravaganza.
While she recently engaged in cheerleading for abortion, her dishonest tag line was: “A Safe Harbor for All.” Not if you’re unborn. And with the recent violence against pro-life care centers and post-Dobbs violence planned, evidently it’s not a safe harbor for people who work to make sure women have the practical choice to not have an abortion.
Please, Democrats, insist on no additional violence in the name of abortion. Surely we can have a debate about abortion in America. Some of us have been asking for this for 49 years.