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Instead of looking for ways to expand access to abortion in New York state, potentially increasing New York’s already scandalously high abortion rate, our elected leaders should be looking for ways to bring those numbers down.
They should be trying to find ways to expand life-affirming access to abortion alternatives—making the adoption process easier and providing tax credits to parents for adopting, increasing access to prenatal care, funding programs that offer parenting assistance to young, low-income single mothers, and protecting against pregnancy discrimination, to name a few.
They certainly should not be considering the so-called Reproductive Health Act, which would expand access to abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, and would allow non-doctors such as nurse practitioners and midwives to perform abortions.
It’s a bill that’s out of step with what most New Yorkers want and it defies common sense in that it is absolutely not needed.
That became clear in a recent poll by the Chiarascuro Foundation, which we reported on in our last issue. It found that 66 percent of New Yorkers—most of whom said they’re “pro-choice”—believe that access to abortion is sufficient. And when told the actual number of abortions performed each year statewide (111,000) the number of people who agreed there’s sufficient access rose to 79 percent.
In fact, a majority of the poll respondents even agreed that more regulations are needed, with 78 percent supporting a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion and 76 percent supporting parental notification for minors.
With its 111,000 abortions annually, New York state has the highest rate of abortions in the country. And New York City’s rate is double the national average, with 60 percent of pregnancies ending in abortion in some communities.
Even so, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in his State of the State message in January, called for passage of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) as part of a 10-point “Women’s Equality Agenda.” Since that time, after strong opposition from the state’s Catholic bishops and others, the governor has indicated he would introduce alternate legislation but has so far declined to say how any proposal he makes would be different.
As things stand now, the state Assembly can be expected to get on board with the RHA, which has been introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers, the Senate’s Democratic leader.
But Sen. Dean Skelos, the Senate’s Republican leader from Rockville Centre, has indicated that he’s against it, and Democratic Sen. David Valesky of Syracuse, one of the five members of the Independent Democratic Conference, has suggested separating the RHA from the Women’s Equality Agenda.
That would give lawmakers a chance to tackle issues like wage disparities, domestic violence and access to child care—all critically important to women.
In the meantime, we strenuously oppose any expansion of abortion in this state, and we strongly support measures aimed at reducing the tragically high rates that we already have.
