Gov. Kathy Hochul Signs Legislative Package From the Great Hall

POSTED ON: June 15, 2022

Hochul at Cooper Union

Courtesy of the Office of Governor Hochul/Photo by Don Pollard, Office of Governor Hochul

Earlier this week New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed six bills designed to protect reproductive health care in New York State from the stage of The Cooper Union's historic Great Hall. President Laura Sparks introduced Governor Hochul who was also joined by New York State Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett, and Quadira Coles of Girls for Gender Equity. The six laws immediately protect the rights of patients and reproductive health care providers in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's possible overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"Not here. Not now. Not ever," Governor Hochul said of the possibility that women's reproductive rights—which she stressed are human rights—could be limited. "Reproductive rights are human rights, and today we are signing landmark legislation to further protect them and all who wish to access them in New York State."

Watch the full press conference online.

More News from The Cooper Union

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.