This week, Governor Cuomo and the abortion industry concocted a new scheme in which they would amend the abortion expansion bill to state that partial-birth abortions would not be allowed. Abortion advocates hoped that by taking this step, they would woo Republican senators to support late-term abortion expansion.

Because the Governor’s bill has nothing to do with partial-birth abortion and the proposed amendment would be meaningless, pro-life organizations moved swiftly to oppose this strategy.

Thankfully, it appears that state senators have not been taken in by the Governor’s latest ploy, and the Albany Times-Union (no friend of the pro-life movement) reported that an “attempt to make an abortion provision more palatable to Senate Republicans sputtered through the Capitol like a loose balloon Thursday before falling flat as lawmakers scattered for the weekend.”

Albany, June 14 — As we enter the final days of the legislative session, NY senators are still standing firm against Gov. Cuomo’s abortion bill.

Facing opposition, Cuomo has agreed to add additional language to try to make the abortion plank more acceptable, but a spokeswoman for Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said in a statement that  “nothing has changed” when it comes to the conference’s position on the abortion provision in the 10-point Women’s Equality Act (WEA).

Meanwhile, women’s groups are taking aim at Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) and blaming him for holding up the measure.

To keep up with the proceedings as things unfold, check out the website Capital Tonight or for real-time news as it breaks follow them on Twitter @CapitalTonight.

In these last, tense days of the Albany legislative session, Sen. Joseph Roback (R-Monroe County) has announced that he doesn’t support the portion of the Women’s Equality Act (WEA) that would bolster abortion laws in New York, eliminating a Republican vote women’s groups had hoped to lock down. Read the Albany Watch story here.

From:
Sr. Lucy Marie, Sisters of Life
Respect Life Coordinator
Archdiocese of New York
phone: 646-794-3192  email: sr.lucy.marie@archny.org

Our office will be sponsoring a bus to Albany on Wednesday, June 12, where New Yorkers for Life is planning a day of  advocacy from 1pm to approximately 5 pm.

We are encouraging broad participation from every corner of the state; the day is intended to be a visible sign of the commitment of pro-life New Yorkers. We hope to fill the Senate hallways and galleries with a clear message: Stop the Abortion Expansion Act. T-shirts and signs will be distributed at the Capitol complex.

Dress professionally.  But we will be asking people to put on T-shirts in the Senate galleries.  If you are planning on driving and meeting us there, let me know so that I can give you details regarding a meeting spot.

The cost for the bus is $24 per person.  Please note that in order to warrant a pickup we need at least 5-6 people for a stop.  RSVP is required!  phone: 646-794-3192 or email  sr.lucy.marie@archny.org

The bus from NYC will stop in Rockland at 10:30 a.m. at the Palisades Mall in West Nyack

If you are interested, please email me ASAP to sign up.  You can bring payment with you that day – checks made out to J&R Tours, or money orders.  If you sign up and need to cancel you have until June 10 – after that time you will have to pay for your seat even if you cancel because at that point it is very difficult to find a replacement and we don’t want to lose any seats – there will be a waiting list.

We will remain in Albany until 5pm and then return home.

Following is a statement of Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the Bishops of New York State:

We are profoundly distressed by the introduction of a bill in New York State today that would ease restrictions in state law on late-term abortion and runs the serious risk of broadly expanding abortion access at all stages of gestation. This legislation would add a broad and undefined “health” exception for late-term abortion and would repeal the portion of the penal law that governs abortion policy, opening the door for non-doctors to perform abortions and potentially decriminalizing even forced or coerced abortions. In addition, we find the conscience protection in the bill to be vague and insufficient, and we are concerned about the religious liberty of our health facilities. While the bill’s proponents say it will simply “codify” federal law, it is selective in its codification.  Nowhere does it address the portions of federal laws that limit abortion, such as the ban on taxpayer funding, the ban on partial birth abortion or protections for unborn victims of violence.   Continue reading →

Governor Cuomo Introduces Anti-Woman and Anti-Child Abortion Expansion Act 

The governor’s so-called Women’s Equality Act is nothing more than a Trojan Horse— a beautiful package to push through the death and destruction of third trimester abortion.

The Governor’s newly released abortion agenda involves enshrining a barbaric federal law from the last century. Under Roe v. Wade, abortionists like Kermit Gosnell can kill babies with a heartbeat, babies capable of feeling pain, babies who are full term and waiting to be born. Instead of protecting these children, the governor is dragging New York in the wrong direction.

Current law states that only a duly licensed physician may perform an abortion. This bill repeals that section and allows anyone to perform an abortion (Article 125.05 Penal Law).   Continue reading →