ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York voters have approved an amendment to the state’s constitution barring discrimination based on things including “gender identity” and “pregnancy outcomes,” changes supporters say will further protect transgender and abortion rights.
Supporters and opponents disagreed sharply about the potential legal impact of the Equal Rights Amendment, also known as Proposition 1. It was fiercely opposed by conservatives who said it would enshrine a legal right for transgender athletes to play on girls’ sports teams. The amendment adds language to the state constitution saying someone cannot be denied civil rights because of their national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes or “reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
” Previously, the constitution forbid discrimination based on race, creed or religion. Democratic leaders put the amendment on the ballot partly in hopes of boosting turnout among voters passionate about protecting abortion access, in an election year when U.S.
House races in New York could help decide which party controls Congress. But the approach Democrats took with the amendment’s language resulted in confusion — and one of the more unusual political fights of the year. While other states with abortion-related questions on their ballots chose to address head-on when exactly ending a pregnancy should be legal, New York lawmakers took the indirect approac.