A long-stalled effort to strengthen abortion rights in New York became reality Tuesday evening when the Legislature easily approved the measure after Republicans stymied it for years.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo immediately signed the Reproductive Health Act into law after Democrats pushed its passage for years.
The vote Tuesday came on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade court case in 1973. The Senate passed the measure 38-24, while the Assembly passed it 92-47.
“We’re saying that here in New York, women’s health matters,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers. “We’re saying here in New York, women’s lives matter. We’re saying here in New York, women’s decisions matter.”
One World Trade Center in New York City, NY — the centerpiece of the World Trade Center complex — was illuminated with pink lighting to celebrate the Empire State’s passage of legislation designating abortion a “fundamental right.”
Cuomo says One World Trade Center’s 408-foot spire, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, the Kosciuszko Bridge and the Alfred E. Smith Building in Albany will be lit in pink tonight to celebrate passage of Reproductive Health Act https://t.co/TmDEmj18Vy pic.twitter.com/XYdgxPNaoC
— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) January 23, 2019
Entitled the Reproductive Health Act, New York’s latest abortion law allows termination of a pregnancy until the expected day of birth with certain limitations:
[An] abortion May be performed by a licensed, certified, or authorized practitioner within 24 weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or at any time when necessary to protect a patient’s life or health.
Breitbart News reported:
The [Reproductive Health Act] also redefines “person” as “a human being who has been born and is alive,” eliminating the possibility of recognizing the personhood of an unborn child. During her presidential campaign in 2016, Hillary Clinton stated that “the unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.”
Breitbart News also highlighted the Reproductive Health Act’s ending of criminal penalties for self-abortion and harming or killing — with specific mention of “homicide” — unborn children.
Hillary Clinton praised New York Democrats’ push for and passage of the aforementioned bill, describing abortion as a “reproductive health service.”
Lila Rose, president and founder of pro-life organization Live Action, said on Wednesday that New York’s newest abortion law is a “cash cow” for the “abortion industry,” offering her remarks in an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with hosts Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak.
Rose explained, “A late-term abortion can cost up to $15,000. We’re talking about potentially tens of thousands, or at least thousands, of dollars for elective late-term abortions. So this is a cash cow for willing abortionists.”
Rose added, “The other thing this law does is it allows nurses and even midwives to commit abortion, so it expands who can commit abortion beyond doctors. Now anybody in New York, practically, can commit abortions.”
Rose noted that Planned Parenthood’s backing of Democrat politicians is a financial boon for its operations as America’s largest abortion provider.
Rose remarked, “So this law is one of the most radical laws our country has ever seen, and New York, because they have this Democrat stronghold — in the State Assembly, in the State Senate, and now with Gov. Cuomo — they are celebrating abortion throughout all nine months.”
Rose stated, “New York has lost a sense of caring for women’s health, here. This isn’t about women’s health. This isn’t even about women’s rights. This is about an aggressive abortion lobby that is helped by its seats in the Senate, in the Assembly, Gov. Cuomo, who’s been hugely backed by Planned Parenthood. This is about the abortion lobby having a heyday in New York. This is not about safety, and it’s certainly not about caring for women and our rights. This is about expanding the abortion industry in the state of New York.”
Planned Parenthood received $563.8 billion from varying levels of government across its 2017-2018 fiscal year — amounting to 34 percent of its revenue for the period, according to its financial report for the term.
Planned Parenthood benefits from tax-exemption via IRS approval of its registration as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Planned Parenthood Federal of America, an adjunct of Planned Parenthood, enjoys charitable status with the IRS, allowing its issuance of charitable receipts to its benefactors for received donations.
Sources:
- https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/01/22/abortion-laws-new-york-how-they-change-immediately/2643065002/
- https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/22/one-world-trade-center-lit-up-in-pink-to-celebrate-ny-abortion-law/
- https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/01/24/lila-rose-ny-abortion-law-cash-cow-planned-parenthoods-abortion-industry/
