ALBANY, NY – The New York State Senate on Friday passed a measure that, if fully enacted, would enshrine in the state’s constitution the right to request an abortion and access contraception.
The measure, the amendment for equal rights, puts New York at the forefront of legal efforts to protect reproductive rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v.
But the scope of the amendment is much wider. It prohibits the government from discriminating against anyone on the basis of a list of qualifications, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or sex, specifically indicating sexual orientation, identity, and expression. gender and pregnancy on the list of protected conditions.
“We can no longer afford to play a risky game because the right will not only take everything to court, but they are starting to control all the courts,” said Senator Liz Krueger, the amendment’s architect. “So it’s becoming increasingly important to enshrine things in state constitutions and state laws.”
The timing, they said, was also important.
“I think this first passage marks the moment when New Yorkers want to express their support for the rights to abortion and reproductive health care, as well as protecting other New Yorkers,” said Manhattan Democrat Sen. Brad Hoylman. who sponsored the bill. .
Republicans were divided on the amendment, especially in the Senate, where seven voted in favor and 13 against. Some who opposed it, including Senator Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, argued that Democrats had outdone and produced a text that could, in fact, discriminate against certain religious views.
“I don’t think anyone should be discriminated against, whatever your opinion on abortion,” Mr. Lanza.
More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia affirmed or expanded abortion rights before the Supreme Court ruling, while another dozen states led by Republicans had current legislation banning abortion. abortion after sentencing.
In the final days of the 2022 New York legislative session, lawmakers passed a package of bills designed to protect abortion applicants and providers. But after the Supreme Court issued decisions on abortion and concealed weapons, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the Legislature to return to Albany on Thursday for a special session.
After a long night of negotiations, the measure was passed in the Senate without debate. He is now addressing the Assembly, where President Carl E. Heastie said Friday that he hoped it would be approved.
However, there will be no changes immediately.
The amendment of the State Constitution is a process of years in New York, which requires the approval of two separately elected legislatures and then the approval of voters in a referendum. By approving it this year, Democratic leaders hope to be able to get approval next year and get it from voters in 2024, when high turnout is expected in a year of the presidential election.
While Ms. Hochul has no formal role in approving this amendment, she has been a proponent of the measure and has included the effort in campaign announcements.
Proponents hoped to pass the amendment at the end of the 2022 session, which concluded in early June. But the effort collapsed after several leading religious groups, including the Catholic Conference and the Council on Relations with the Jewish Community, opposed the measure for several reasons.
A key question was whether the act of consecrating new protected classes to the State Constitution would somehow lower existing religious protections.
Early versions of the bills did not include religion or creed in the list of protected classes, although religious rights appear elsewhere in the state constitution. Religious groups protested strongly.
Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Committee, said that while he supported adding protections for reproductive and transgender rights, he believed that omitting religion from the specific list was unacceptable.
“What they have in mind is the wedding photographer, the pastry shop cases,” Mr. Stern, referring to previous court cases with companies that denied their services to gay couples. “That’s why they exclude religion and creed.”
Mr. Stern said he believed lawmakers intended gay couples to win those cases, which he considered putting “a thumb on the scales.”
On Friday, lawmakers had reached a compromise, adding religion to the list of protected classes so that it would be on an equal footing with sex and race.
Lawmakers said the commitment would ensure that the state had stronger protections than ever for members of the protected classes and that the rights of one group would not diminish those of another.
“This amendment is really a shield, not a sword,” Mr. Hoylman.
A provision that would have lowered the standard of discrimination – to include unintentional discrimination that results in a “disparate impact” – was removed from the legislation, to the disappointment of advocates. But a clause in the law leaves the door open to future changes.
While the Catholic Conference continued to oppose the measure, other religious groups, including the Council on Relations with the Jewish Community, expressed support, saying they were pleased to have found “common ground to add these protections for all New Yorkers, including the protection of the right to religious freedom. ”
Other advocates, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, also applauded the approval and called it a crucial first step in responding to the Supreme Court’s “existential threat.”
“Our state constitution, if this amendment is passed, will say, ‘not here in New York nor under our supervision.’ Our equal protection clause can serve as a model,” said Lee Rowland, director of policy. of the NYCLU, and added, “This is a great victory.”