He’s Repro Man
Gov backed by top abortion-rights group
ALBANY — A leading abortion rights group is backing Gov. Cuomo for reelection.
The National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund PAC, which used to be known as NARAL NY, is also supporting Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul for re-election.
“With the federal government in the hands of anti-abortion extremists, New York needs leaders with a proven track record of using the full power of their offices to fight to expand access to abortion, contraception, and other reproductive care," said NIRH Action Fund PAC President Andrea Miller.
Miller called Cuomo “a national champion for women's health, rights, and equality, who has delivered for New York's women.”
Miller's group joins Planned Parenthood's state political action committee in backing Cuomo and Hochul at a time when abortion rights groups fear a conservative Supreme Court could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion across the country.
Miller said “the future of reproductive rights is increasingly up to the states, and we need to reelect Gov. Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to guarantee that New York leads the charge in protecting and advancing reproductive freedom.
“Their continued leadership will ensure New York is a bulwark against federal policies to undermine women's constitutional rights and decision-making power over our own bodies.” Hochul has criticized her Democratic primary challenger, City Council member Jumaane Williams, for his position on abortion.
Williams has said he personally opposes abortion but believes in a women's legal right to make the decision.
“I am steadfast in my commitment to protecting a woman's right to choose and advancing women's equality in all aspects of their everyday lives,” Hochul said in accepting the NIRH Action Fund PAC endorsement.
Cuomo's primary opponent, actress Cynthia Nixon, and Williams announced Sunday that they were endorsing each other. Nixon, who at a recent women's rights rally in New York City held up a wire hanger while telling the story of her late mother's illegal abortion, has said she believes Williams is now in the right spot on the issue.
She has also ripped Cuomo for “gaslighting women” by claiming to push for legislation to strengthen the state's abortion laws while also emboldening a Republican Senate that has blocked the bill.
Cuomo called on state Senate Republicans to come back to Albany “and protect women's reproductive rights or be voted out of office.”
As for Williams, he's taken heat from the National Organization for Women's New York chapter for his personal stance against abortion and same-sex marriage. The Brooklyn councilman maintains he backs the legal right to both.