New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to make it easier for women in their third trimester to obtain abortions.
New York already allows late-term abortions to women if their life is in danger. However, Cuomo, a progressive who is eying the presidency in 2016, is reportedly working on legislation that will allow women to cite other health-related reasons as justification for a late-term abortion. Cuomo’s bill is a follow-through on a promise he made during his his State of the State address last month, when he called for “a Reproductive Health Act because it is her body, it is her choice.”
It is up in the air whether or not this new law would pass in the State Assembly. While Democrats have a large majority in the State Assembly, it could be blocked by pro-life Republicans and moderate Democrats in the State Senate.
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins predicts that the law won’t pass “because it’s so extreme.”
“They’re trying to cement the law, because they see that inevitably Roe. V. Wade will be overturned,” she pointed out.
In a recent Gallup poll, only 41 percent of Americans are pro-choice compared to the 50 percent who considered themselves pro-life, giving conservatives hope that the tide is turning in favor of life.
Likewise, Live Action President Lila Rose argues that the legislation could have the opposite effect and actually turn people away from the pro-abortion movement.
“The more radical pro-abortion politicians become, and the more they show their true colors, the more people are going to reject their position and reject their leadership,” she said. “All over the country, there are pushes in both directions to make abortions more prevalent or to limit it.”
Rose said bills like Cuomo’s “only make us work harder.”
New York legalized abortion in 1970, three years before it was legalized nationally by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade. Seven states, including California and Maryland, currently have laws on the books legalizing abortions should Roe be overturned. New York already has one of the most lax laws in the country. The revisions Cuomo seeks to make to the law would make it far and away the most progressive one.
