Both houses of New York’s legislature are set to vote on enshrining the right to an abortion within the state’s constitution Tuesday evening.
Once the motion passes through the state Assembly and Senate, which it is expected to do by a wide margin, it could be brought before New Yorkers as early as November 2023. However, Politico suggests that representatives may wait until the following year, to coincide with the tailwinds of a presidential election in a deep blue state, for added protection.
“Here in New York we will never let the extremist, anti-choice agenda to prevent anyone from accessing reproductive health care,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (Dem., D-83) said during an abortion-rights rally in Albany, Ny., on Tuesday.
A similar sentiment was echoed by Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Dem., D-35) during a press conference prior to Tuesday’s vote.
“We are undeterred. This is our mandate to continue strengthening New York’s status as a destination state where reproductive freedoms are protected and the right to choose is guaranteed,” Stewart-Cousins affirmed.
In 2019, the New York legislature strengthened state laws surrounding abortion including prohibiting employment discrimination based on employee abortion decisions and insurance-covered access to contraception.
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last year, the body passed legislation protecting medical providers and patients seeking abortions from out-of-state litigation.
Republicans, who control less than a third of seats in the State Assembly, have opposed the move arguing that it discriminates against religious residents of New York.
“The passage of the Equality Amendment would result in the further erosion of religious liberty for New Yorkers whose faith, traditions teach that abortion, homosexuality and/or transgenderism are immoral and could subject many faith-based charities and schools to catastrophic liability,” David DiPietro (Rep., D-147) said during an earlier floor debate.
Governor Kathy Hochul, who has made the issue of abortion central to her campaigning, also hailed the news.
“I know more than any governor before me of what it’s like to be a woman and whether someone else in Washington has the right to take away what I should be able to decide on my own,” Hochul said.