Abortion Expansion

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

For the past decade, various types of abortion expansion legislation (e.g., the "Reproductive Health Act") have been introduced in the NYS Legislature for the past seven years. On January 22, 2019, the bill was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. New York now has the most liberal abortion laws in the nation.

WHAT DOES THIS ABORTION EXPANSION LEGISLATION DO?

The Governor's bill is a radical proposal that would give New York the most liberal abortion laws in the world -- in fact, it would remove any limitations on abortion from our laws. It would:

• Encourage more late-term abortions – by removing our current law’s limit on abortions after 24 weeks.
• Permit non-doctors to do abortions – granting a license to perform abortions would be entirely within the discretion of State bureaucrats. In fact, anyone could do an abortion and the only penalty they might face is a prosecution for practicing medicine without a license.
• Eliminate all criminal penalties for abortions – so even if an abortion was involuntary or coerced, or is an unborn child is deliberately targeted for an act of violence, it could not be prosecuted.
• Endanger children even after birth – by eliminating a law that requires that a baby born alive after an abortion be given adequate health care. Instead, this bill would allow abortionists to leave those children to die of neglect and starvation.

ISN'T THE TREND ACROSS THE NATION TO INCREASE REGULATION?

Yes. More and more states are enacting sensible limitations on abortion. Many states now require parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, prohibit most taxpayer funding of abortion, and have specific informed consent laws for pregnant women seeking abortion. States are also moving to enforce health and safety regulations on abortion clinics, requiring ultrasounds prior to abortion and to prohibit abortion in later stages of pregnancy.
 

WHAT DO THE POLLS SAY ABOUT ABORTION?

A new poll from the Knights of Columbus and Marist College demonstrates the depth of pro-life feelings in our nation. Only a bare majority of Americans (51%) call themselves "pro-choice", while 44% say they're "pro-life". But labels are deceptive -- they conceal the real pro-life majority. This can be seen when the poll asks more specific questions about people's actual beliefs:

• 76% of Americans support limiting abortion to the first three months of pregnancy.
• There is strong support for this limit across the political and ideological spectrum -- Republicans (92%), Independents (78%), Democrats (61%) and even those who call themselves Pro-choice (60%).
• 63% of Americans would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and 60% oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortion.
• 56% of Americans continue to believe that abortion is morally wrong, and 64% believe it's immoral to abort unborn children with genetic ailments like Down syndrome -- a position that even 49% of those who are Pro-choice agree with.
• In a sign of hope for authentic conscience protection, 54% of Americans agree that medical professionals and organizations with moral objections should not be required to be involved in abortions or cover them with health insurance.
• Abortion continues to be a major issue in how people decide to vote for President (42%), Congress (45%) and local races (38%).
• And despite decades of pro-abortion propaganda intended to establish that abortion is a positive good, a strong majority of Americans (52%) say that abortion does a woman more harm than good in the long run, while only 29% have bought the lie that abortion improves a woman's life.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS?

We are asking people to sign a petition calling on legislators to repeal the bill. This can be done through the Action Center of the New York State Catholic Conference.

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