NY Legislature Poised to Protect Reproductive, Gender Rights

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New Yorks Legislature is poised to take another step Tuesday toward adopting a constitutional amendment that would bar discrimination based on pregnancy outcomes or gender expression provisions intended to protect abortion rights and a persons right to seek gender-affirming care.

In a pair of afternoon votes, the state's Senate and Assembly are expected to approve an expansion of the state constitutions Equal Protection Amendment. That would clear the way for the amendment to go before voters in a referendum in 2024.

While the amendment wouldn't explicitly preserve a womans right to have an abortion, supporters say it would have the practical effect of protecting reproductive rights.

Womens rights and LGBTQI+ rights are under attack across the country, that is why it is essential that New York continues to lead the way in protecting reproductive health access and championing equality rights, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, said in a statement before the vote.