New York voters have the opportunity to codify abortion and protections against gender discrimination this November with New York’s Proposal 1.
Proposition 1, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, expands protections to include abortion and closes loopholes that exclude LGBTQ+ people from accessing some of the rights and protections listed in the New York State Bill of Rights.
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The proposal gives residents of New York a chance to “add anti-discrimination provisions to State Constitution. It covers ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, as well as sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy. Also covers reproductive healthcare and autonomy,” according to the New York State Board of Elections.
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In a post-Roe world, supporters of Proposal 1 say it is deeply necessary. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) supports the bill, saying in a statement: “We might like to think we’re safe from these attacks here in New York, but the truth is there are dangerous loopholes in our state constitution that leave us vulnerable to the whims of politicians. And though we have strong laws protecting us from discrimination, we know that laws aren’t enough, because they can be easily changed, as we’ve seen time and again in recent years as political winds shift.”
The bill notes that in 2022, Lee Zeldin, a Republican candidate for governor who was strongly against abortion, came within six points of winning the position. Proposal 1 would prevent politicians like Zeldin from reversing already existing legislation that protects abortion rights and rights against gender discrimination.
While Proposal 1’s proponents are stressing its protections for abortion rights, its opponents are rallying against its protections for LGBTQ+ people. The ballot initiative would close loopholes left by the state’s current Equal Rights Amendment, which doesn’t protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination.
The New York GOP says that the proposal would “create new constitutional rights and likely become the subject of litigation by activist groups seeking to create new ‘rights’ inconsistent with the views of most New Yorkers. Among these new ‘rights’ are ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ covering ‘all persons’ including minor children. The ERA would create a constitutional right to medical transgender procedures without parental consent.”
Conservatives rely on their familiar, many times debunked, say that it would lead to “the medicalization and indoctrination of children” and “mean that biological males could assert a new constitutional ‘right’ to participate on female sports teams.”
Last week, Albany County Supreme Court Judge David Weinstein rewrote the language of the proposed amendment. The original language of Proposal 1 said that the proposal would add to the state constitution “anti-discrimination provisions” covering sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. Judge Weinstein removed mentions of “abortion” or “LGBT.”
“Prop 1 will be a critical tool for all New Yorkers to exercise their rights. That’s why powerful, well-funded, anti-abortion forces are working hard to defeat it, even before voters get a chance to pass it,” the NYCLU says.
