There’s quite a bit of misinformation about Proposition 1. Read it for yourself below. A “yes” vote supports amending Section 11, Article 1, of the New York State constitution. Bold words are new, bracketed words will be cut.
11. a. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in [his or her] their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.
b. Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination on the basis of a characteristic listed in this section, nor shall any characteristic listed in this section be interpreted to interfere with, limit, or deny the civil rights of any person based upon any other characteristic identified in this section.
In addition to guaranteeing access to abortion, the inclusion of “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive autonomy” in the constitution would protect pregnant New Yorkers from facing criminal charges for a miscarriage, stillbirth, or even using in vitro fertilization. This isn’t entirely hypothetical. In 2008 a New York pregnant woman was convicted of manslaughter for the death of her fetus in a car accident — one of a dozen cases of pregnancy criminalization in New York tracked in recent decades by the nonprofit Pregnancy Justice.
While abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, and protections were increased by the 2019 Reproductive Health Act, there is no constitutional “right” to abortion in New York. That’s what the amendment would create. Without this amendment, the right to abortion in New York could be nullified as it was at the federal level in 2022 when the Dobbs decision voided Roe v. Wade.
Across the country, politicians are restricting people’s rights and reproductive freedoms — including the right to abortion.
Here in New York, there are dangerous loopholes in the state constitution that leave us vulnerable to out-of-touch politicians rolling back our rights.
Sasha Ahuja, campaign director, New Yorkers for Equal Rights