Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will release his 10-point Women's Equality Act, including protecting a woman's right to choose.
The act addresses the significant obstacles to full equality that women face throughout New York. It includes provisions to close the pay gap between men and women and to eliminate discrimination against women in employment and in housing. It also establishes a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment in the workplace, strengthens protections for domestic violence victims, and strengthens our anti-human trafficking laws. And, it protects a woman's right to choose.
The governor's proposal on choice is clear and simple: "The state shall not deny a woman's right to obtain an abortion as established by the United States Supreme Court in the 1973 decision Roe vs. Wade." The proposal also incorporates into state law the key holding from Roe, that a woman has a right to obtain an abortion "when the fetus is not viable or when necessary to protect a woman's life or health as determined by a licensed physician." Further, it explicitly states that it does not diminish the rights of health care providers who wish to refrain from providing an abortion for religious or moral reasons.
The language is not a "radical expansion" of a woman's right to choose, as opponents suggest. It incorporates into state law the health exception that has been required by the Supreme Court for more than 40 years.
The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Those who oppose the governor's proposal reject what has been the law of the land for more than 40 years — a woman's right to choose. They use scare tactics because they do not believe in a woman's right to choose; they oppose Roe vs. Wade, and they wish to take away this long established right in New York state law. While the opponents have the right to be anti-choice, they don't have the right to intentionally twist what the governor's proposal will do.
There is no expansion of abortion rights in this bill. The governor is simply seeking to align our outdated state law to existing federal law and protect the rights women already have. It's important that it happens. The Supreme Court could always bring changes, and we want to protect a woman's current right to choose. Also, as the women's advocates point out, the public has a right to know their legislator's position on this important issue.
Mylan Denerstein is counsel to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.