As we head toward election day next week, with Early Voting well underway, New Yorkers continue to be bombarded with off-the-wall lies spread by anti-abortion activists about what Proposition 1, the Equal Rights Amendment, will do. As the State Senate sponsor of the ERA, I feel that perhaps the most damaging of those lies is that New Yorkers’ abortion rights and reproductive freedom are not at risk. All you have to do is look at the very recent history of this country to see for yourself that the rights and freedoms we think are set in stone can be taken away very quickly.
For many years I carried a bill in the State Senate called the Reproductive Health Act, or RHA. The purpose of the RHA was to codify Roe v Wade into New York State law. For years I was told by the anti-abortion majority in the State Senate that the RHA was not necessary, that Roe was the law of the land, that our abortion rights were not at risk. But we know that was not true. Fortunately, in 2018 New Yorkers voted for a supermajority that supports New Yorkers’ basic personal freedoms, and the RHA passed in 2019, protecting New Yorkers just in the nick of time before the Supreme Court tore down Roe.
Now anti-abortion forces are again pushing the lie that New Yorkers’ reproductive freedom is completely safe. But if that were true, they wouldn’t be working so hard to defeat Prop 1. What they know is that only six years ago there was an anti-abortion majority in the State Senate, and only two years ago a virulently anti-abortion candidate came within a few points of being elected governor. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision a scenario in which such a man could force changes to state law to significantly restrict the right to choose.
That’s what Prop 1 is about. So why doesn’t it just say “abortion”? Because reproductive freedom is much more than just abortion. It includes IVF and other fertility treatments, as well as contraception and all the basic reproductive healthcare that all New Yorkers need, including future healthcare options that have yet to be imagined. Prop 1 would protect women from being arrested for having a miscarriage or stillbirth, a nightmare that is actually happening in states across this country. And it even protects people from discrimination for choosing not to become pregnant or choosing not to have an abortion.
So what about all the other disinformation? There has been a flood of increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories about what Prop 1 will do. They are all false.
Prop 1 will not impact parental rights to be involved in medical decisions for their kids. These are dealt with in other well-developed areas of state and federal law, and there is well-established case-law that recognizes the ability of governments to make commonsense age-based regulations. Parental consent is required for gender-affirming care in all 50 states, including the 25 states that already have equal rights amendments.
When it comes to trans girls playing sports, children in NY can already play on the sports team that matches their gender identity because of both New York State Human Rights Law and the federal Title IX law, which supersedes state law and has already been interpreted by federal courts to require young people to play on sports teams that match their gender identity.
Prop 1 will not allow non-citizens to vote or receive any benefits that they are not already entitled to. The federal government, not states, determines citizenship and therefore the boundaries of any benefits based on citizenship status. Article II, Section I of the State Constitution governs qualifications for voting, and is very clear that only citizens can vote.
I urge New Yorkers – use your common sense. If the far-fetched stories of the anti-Prop 1 crowd sound like crazy conspiracy theories, it’s because they are. If you reject the politics of fear and division and support abortion rights and the equal rights of all New Yorkers, vote yes on Prop 1.
Liz Krueger is chair of the New York State Senate Finance Committee, and was the prime sponsor of the legislation to put the Equal Rights Amendment on the ballot as Prop 1.
