New York State has the highest abortion rate in the county with 33% of all pregnancies ending in abortion (40% in NYC). An effort by the governor to include abortion expansion as part of his 10-point Women’s Equality Act will make abortions even more frequent and dangerous for New York women. Feminists Choosing Life Action (501 4c), a pro-woman, pro-life organization that recognizes the dignity of all human beings from conception to natural death, offers an 8-Point response to Governor Cuomo’s plan:
Point #1.The movement in Albany toward abortion expansion (as in The Reproductive Health Act S438) and point 10 of Gov. Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Act) represents a dangerous step backwards for the women of New York.
Point #2. The abortion expansion plan would allow an undefined “licensed health care practitioner” to perform an abortion up to 24 weeks gestation. 39-43 states require a physician present during the procedure. Practitioners may have less surgical experience and less experience handling unforeseen complications. This change in law shows little regard for women’s safety during a surgical procedure.
Point #3. By refusing to put forth a Women’s Equality Act that excludes the abortion expansion component, the governor is holding improved social equality for women hostage to his radical abortion ideology and personal political aspirations.
Point #4. Through a broad “health of the mother” exception, this plan will allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason. The risk to the mother’s life greatly increases with each passing week of gestation. Late-term abortions are deadly for women and 70% of New Yorkers oppose them.
Point #5. Currently, state law mandates that abortions past the twelfth week of pregnancy be performed in a hospital. The abortion expansion would allow them to be performed in “licensed facilities.” Such clinics and out-patient facilities are less equipped to handle emergencies or complications. A hospital is the safest place for women undergoing such a procedure. Again, this change in law shows little regard for women’s medical safety.
Point #6. Governor Cuomo has reported that he has consulted “women’s organizations” for each point in his Women’s Equality Act”. All of these women’s organizations, without exception, support abortion rights and represent his personal abortion ideology. We call on the governor to invite anti-abortion women’s groups such as Feminists Choosing Life and the multitude of women-owned pregnancy care centers around the state to participate in the dialogue around this most crucial women’s issue.
Point #7. The newly formed coalition for the Women’s Equality act will assert that the abortion component will merely codify New York State abortion laws. This assertion is intentionally misleading and false. The proposed expansion goes far beyond that of Roe v. Wade. Please go to: www.NewYorkersForLife.org to learn more.
Point #8. Life is a fundamental right. Abortion is not.