ALBANY, N.Y. -- An amendment to New York’s constitution that would bar discrimination based on things including “gender identity” and “pregnancy outcomes" is up for a final vote Tuesday amid debate over how much it might affect future abortion and transgender rights.
Supporters and opponents disagree sharply about the potential legal impact of the Equal Rights Amendment, also known as Proposition 1. New York’s constitution currently forbids discrimination based on race, creed or religion. The amendment would add language that says 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.
” Democratic leaders put the amendment on the ballot partly in hopes of boosting turnout by voters passionate about protecting abortion access, in an election year where U.S. House races in New York could help decide which party controls Congress.
Several other states also have abortion-related constitutional amendments on their ballots Tuesday. Most of those ballot questions address head-on when it should be legal to end a pregnancy. But in New York, state lawmakers took the indirect approach of writing the amendment as an antidiscrimination measure.
Democrats who support the amendment have argued that the new language would create a legal framework where any restrictions on abortion would amount to an unconstitutional for.