I am writing in response to your recent endorsement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's so-called "women's agenda" ("A Senate snag on women's rights," Feb. 3). Cleverly, Gov. Cuomo has couched his radical "abortion expansion" legislation with other proposals that all women can agree on.
As the mother of a 1-year-old daughter, I cannot quibble with measures that address justice for victims of domestic violence or outlaw sex trafficking, but for the governor to wrap these provisions with a bill that would also allow late-term abortions to be performed on the same women he is trying to protect is disingenuous at best and, worse, downright dangerous.
Your editorial is mistaken in that it states the governor's bill mirrors "federal law." It does not. Current federal law allows states to pass common-sense laws like parental notification in regard to minors and other measures on which a majority of Americans agree. The governor's plan makes abortion a "fundamental right," which means no such regulations on the practice would be allowable.
The governor should also be aware if he truly is promoting a women's agenda that abortion is sometimes used against women, i.e. when used for sex selection. In a recent Columbia University study, a "strong son bias" was documented in some American communities. I find the governor's proposed abortion expansion legislation anti-women because it would extinguish the lives of many voiceless unborn women.
Teri Kippen
Troy