On Wednesday, June 18, the Westchester-Putnam Right to Life ad concerning the Women’s Equality Act will be shown on Hudson Valley Cablevision Channel 12 News at the following times (+/_ a few minutes):
(UPDATED 6/16/14) Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R, C, I, Brooklyn, Staten Island) urged her colleagues on Friday to let each point in the Women’s Equality Act stand on its own merits and go up for a separate vote. Malliotakis said of the controversial abortion expansion plank:
The sticking point is somewhat perplexing. New York ranks among the top states in the nation for number of abortions performed. In New York City, a striking 41 percent of pregnancies end in abortion, equating to roughly 87,000 abortions per year. Clearly, there is not a lack of access to abortion here in our state. Then why do the Assembly Democrats continue to hold up so many good measures for a 10th plank that they claim simply “codifies” federal law? They need to stop holding the Women’s Equality Act hostage and put forth a plan we can all be proud of.
Here’s Malliotakis’ complete statement, “Albany Must Not Fail Women Again.”
Others who support breaking the bill into separate votes include Assemblywomen Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell, Broome County), and Sandra Galef (D-Ossining, Westchester County). Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, issued a statement Friday calling for separate votes as well.
Tracey Brooks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates, said women’s groups are still pushing for all components of the WEA, “and we’re not stopping until we get all of them.”
Now that the NYS Senate has passed two bills included in the Women’s Equality Act what will the Assembly do now?
Rather than hold up the whole women’s rights package over the controversial abortion expansion measure, the Senate on Thursday extracted two provisions and passed them unanimously — ending pregnancy discrimination in the workplace and preventing human trafficking and providing greater protection to its victims.
Now these bills have been sent to the Assembly, where some action must take place soon. The legislative session ends June 19,
The Assembly for the past two years has insisted on keeping the whole WEA intact, preferring to see the whole measure fail, rather than eliminate the abortion expansion provision.
Here’s Jon Campbell’s “Politics on the Hudson” blog with more details.
And here are the remarks of Sen. John DeFrancisco (R, C, I parts of Cayuga and Onondaga counties) against the NYS Assembly’s “all or nothing” approach, which he called “childish, dangerous, and wrong.” (2 min. video)
As expected, the New York State Senate today broke apart the 10-point Woman’s Equality Act (WEA) package and unanimously passed bills to end pregnancy discrimination in the workplace and to prevent human trafficking and provide greater protection to its victims.
The full 10-point package — which included the controversial abortion expansion plank — had no chance passing the state Senate, according to a group led by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Westchester Democrat, that favored a stand-alone action on the two bills passed today.
Maureen Wren, a spokesperson for Senate Republicans, said that they support the passage of all bills included in the WEA legislation, except for the one dealing with abortion, which she called “an extreme provision allowing nondoctors to perform an abortion right up to the moment of a baby’s birth and putting the health and welfare of women at risk.”
Now both bills will be sent to the Assembly.
The Assembly has refused to consider the WEA provisions individually, and last January, it passed the full WEA agenda, which included the abortion plank. All Rockland assemblypersons, Ellen Jaffee, Jim Skoufis, and Ken Zebrowski, voted for the omnibus bill.
But now, both houses must come to an agreement before either today’s bills or the full 10-pt. WEA can become law.
Stay tuned. The legislative session ends a week from today, June 19.
This 30-second video lays out the 4 most dangerous provisions in the abortion component of the Women’s Equality Act.
Before the legislative sessions ends on June 19, this bill will probably come before the NYS Senate. If you have not as yet contacted your state senator, you still have time.
Please ask Sen. Larkin (if you live in Haverstraw, Stony Point or Pomona) or Sen. Carlucci (if you live anywhere else in Rockland) to oppose the abortion plank of the Women’s Equality Act.
Sen. Carlucci 518-455-2991 — Sen. Larkin 518-455-2770
*UPDATED 6/3/14* A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is considering jettisoning the “all or nothing” approach to passing the Women’s Equality Act to avoid gridlock over the abortion component.
Assemb. Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) has called for separate votes on proposals to protect pregnant women from discrimination at work and another to further combat human trafficking.
The pregnancy bill would require employees to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees — such as more frequent breaks, or assignments that don’t require standing for long periods of time — and would classify any pregnancy related condition as a “temporary disability.”
In May, Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) introduced the Governor’s 10-point “Women’s Equality Act” (S.7540) which includes a dangerous abortion expansion component. Just a few weeks ago the Senate Health Committee defeated a stand-alone abortion expansion bill (S.438), but now we must let our Senate representatives know that New Yorkers don’t want or need abortion expansion — in whatever form it appears. Take action now to urge your State Senator to reject the part of the Women’s Equality Act that contains abortion expansion. Last year, the Senate rightly passed nine individual bills benefitting women, but rejected the abortion expansion bill. We must urge our Senators to stay the course!
Today, New York State Right to Life commented on reintroduction of the so-called “Women’s Equality Act.” A group of pro-abortion Democratic State Senators continued to push today for abortion-expansion, despite polls showing the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers oppose their dangerous agenda.
“How many times do New Yorkers have to reject this radical agenda that would legalize abortion for any reason through all nine months?” asked Lori Kehoe, New York State Right to Life executive director. “New York is already the abortion capital of the United States, with practically no oversight of the industry, but they would rather protect the abortion business than New York women. It’s wrong.”
The 10th point of the Women’s Equality Act, pushed for by Governor Cuomo, would change New York law to open the doors for non-doctors to perform abortions, and to allow abortions in the third trimester for any reason. Current law already allows abortion at any point that a woman’s life is in danger, but the 10th point would change that to include any “health” reason as well. The key distinction is that “health” was defined in the 1973 court case Doe v. Bolton, providing a definition so broad that it far overreaches physical, or even mental, well-being.
A poll conducted by McLaughlin and Associates last year found that 79.5% of New Yorkers oppose allowing unlimited abortion right through the ninth month of pregnancy.
“It is still surprising to me that some Senators so militantly support abortion on demand that basic human rights, safety for mothers and even widespread public opinion months before an election is completely off their radar.” They hide behind ‘health’ pretending their dangerous agenda is seeking to help women,” added Kehoe. “But the truth is that passage of the 10th point of the Women’s Equality Act only serves the violent abortion industry. We urge the New York State Senate to listen to the voters, and to common sense, and oppose this radical expansion of abortion.”
May 20 press release from New York State Right to Life, the oldest and largest pro-life organization in New York. An affiliate of National Right to Life, NYSRTL works through education, legislation, and political action to protect the unborn, elderly, and medically vulnerable among us.
Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will strip federal funding from any health plan created by Obamacare that covers abortion on demand. It’s called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 7).The vote was 227 to 188.
Under this act, our tax dollars cannot be used to help Americans purchase insurance plans with abortion coverage. Nor can they be used to pay for abortions in any federal program.
Unfortunately, Rockland’s representative Nita Lowey voted against this bill.
Now the bill goes to the Senate, President Obama has said he will veto it if it passes there.
For more information about this bill, click here.
THE BAD NEWS
Monday, the New York State Assembly passed the Women’s Equality Act, which makes abortion available for essentially any reason at any time.
Although the bill also contain provisions that are generally acceptable to most New Yorkers — like equal pay for women and ending sexual harassment, for example — here’s why it’s dangerous:
You may remember the battle over this bill last spring, where it failed to pass by one vote. We must stop this bill in the Senate, and we need everyone to help! Please watch this website to learn what you can do. For more information, click here.
Unfortunately, again, all the legislators in Rockland County voted for this bill: Ellen Jaffe (representing Orangetown and parts of Ramapo), Ken Zebrowski (representing Haverstraw and Clarkstown), and James Skoufis (representing Stony Point). In the picture below, he’s the first one on the left. This is a rally of the Family Planning Advocates of New York in support of the bill. He even wore a pink tie for the occasion.
ROCKLAND RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE 