Edwin J. Viera, New York News Connection
New Yorkers will vote on the state’s Equal Rights Amendment in November.
Proposition 1 enshrines protections against discrimination based on age, disability, gender identity or expression, sexual identity and pregnancy outcomes. Although it is not explicitly stated, it codifies abortion rights into the state’s constitution.
Despite wide support, the Archdiocese of New York and Republican state lawmakers are against it.
Sasha Ahuja, campaign director for the group New Yorkers for Equal Rights, said New Yorkers want the amendment passed.
“New Yorkers feel the threat,” Ahuja contended. “They know that our rights are not as safe as they thought they were. New Yorkers are looking at the states that have rolled back access to reproductive health care and abortion; 22 states in total.”
A Guttmacher Institute study showed an increase in people traveling to New York to get an abortion. New York lawmakers from both parties are not entirely happy with the amendment’s wording. Democrats worry voters will not understand the amendment codifies abortion rights. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers worry the nonspecific language might lead to gender-affirming care without parental consent and transgender athletes’ participation in school sports.
Amending the state constitution is not easy since it requires the state Legislature to pass the bill twice, consecutively. The amendment has been subject to legal challenges that almost kept it off this year’s ballot. The lawsuit was from a Republican state Assemblymember alleging the Legislature committed a technical error in passing the amendment. Ahuja noted such challenges have been a common occurrence when reproductive rights are on the ballot.
“We’ve seen attacks like this in states like Florida and Ohio, states all across the country that try to get these measures off or make it harder for people to vote,” Ahuja stressed. “And we saw that same thing play out here in New York.”
The District of Columbia and four states have codified abortion rights in their state constitutions since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022.