Gov. Hochul signs abortion rights legislation (photo: Governor's Office)

Voters in the fall of 2024 will have a chance to enshrine civil rights protections for women, LGBTQ people, and abortion access into the state constitution after lawmakers on Tuesday pass the New York State Equal Rights Amendment for the second time.

If approved by voters, the state constitution will for the first time prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, disability, and sex, "including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes,

Gov. Hochul makes an abortion access announcement (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

Since March 2020, health-care workers in New York have been on the front lines. Resilience, service, and a fierce commitment to delivering high-quality care to our patients guided us through the darkest days of the pandemic.

Due to the heroism of my co-workers and with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration, two years later we now stand ready to continue providing abortion care and set an example for the nation

An abortion rights rally in New York (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

The Supreme Court’s horrific decision to overturn Roe is not only a severe blow to women’s autonomy over their bodies, it is a powerful reminder that addressing the real impacts of sexism and gender inequality is not on the national agenda as much as it should be.

Right now, women — especially women already living paycheck to paycheck — are at serious risk of falling off the economic cliff, resulting in dire consequences not just for them, but for their families and communities. For most people, including women, housing

City Council hearing on maternal health (photo: Emil Cohen/NYC Council)

At a hearing this past week, New York City Council Members discussed a package of legislation related to maternal health, mortality, and morbidity and seeking to address healthcare inequities as well as the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade constitutional abortion protections. The joint hearing held by the Council’s Committee on Health and Committee on Hospitals dealt with...

A rally for reproductive rights (photo: Don Pollard / Governor’s Office)

Momentum is building behind an Equal Rights Amendment to the New York State Constitution that would enshrine reproductive rights and a range of anti-discrimination protections into the state's highest governing document.

Versions of the amendment have circulated in the Legislature for years without being reconciled among the two chambers, the Senate and Assembly. But it has gained new urgency with the expected U.S. Supreme Court demise of Roe v. Wade, as states look to shore up their own abortion

 
An abortion rights rally in Albany (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

May 4, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Assemblymember Karines Reyes on New York Abortion Rights and the Future of Roe

Assembly Member Karines Reyes, a registered nurse who represents the Bronx’s 87th District in the State Assembly, joined the show to discuss the potential Supreme Court nullification of Roe v. Wade reproductive rights, New York's abortion laws, her personal experiences, and what state elected officials may do in the coming weeks and months to further solidify and expand

Gov. Hochul speaks at an "abortion justice" event (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

A draft majority opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, which was leaked and reported on by Politico on Monday, would strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that granted a federal constitutional right to an abortion. Though the opinion — on Dobbs v. Jackson

Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the author (photo: Rodneyse Bichotte/Facebook)

Abortion is a matter of life and death for a woman. Those who are pro-choice like me know that access to safe abortion care can prevent a woman from losing her life, and restrictions can - and are - ending it. And for Black women like me, who know what it’s like to lose a child because of maternal healthcare inequities, this is a nightmare that’s only going to get worse.

Women pioneers fought tirelessly

Gov. Hochul leads a press conference on abortion rights (photo: Don Pollard/Governor’s Office)

In response to the recent ban in Texas and upcoming Supreme Court case, Governor Kathy Hochul declared New York ...

City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, right (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

New York City Council Members will hold an oversight hearing Wednesday on “sexual and reproductive rights in New York City” and consider a package of legislation on those subjects, at a joint hearing of the Council’s Committee on Health and Committee on Women and Gender Equity. 

The bills cover a wide range of

(photo: Governor's office)

Last week, new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh showed his true colors when it comes to access to safe, legal abortion. His dissent in the Louisiana case completely disregarded legal precedent and revealed his hostility to Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court cases upholding the law.

Earlier in the week, President Trump used the highest office in the country to continue his misinformed, divisive brand of extremist politics, including by fear-mongering about abortion law in New York. This is not a drill: our

(photo: @PPESVotesPAC)

This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
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For years reproductive health advocates have pushed to update New York’s antiquated abortion law and increase access to affordable contraception, only to be stalled by our state Senate leadership’s refusal to consider any reproductive health legislation. That roadblock continued despite the federal administration's efforts to drastically

Letitia James and Andrea Miller, the authors

When visiting a health care provider, most patients trust that they’ll get a reasonably high standard of medical care and assume that their medical providers will keep their information confidential, and are not actively trying to deceive them. But around the country, 2,700 fake women’s health centers – which sometimes call themselves “crisis pregnancy centers” – are lying to women and giving false information in order to prevent women from having abortions. One hundred of them are here in New York

(photo: @PPact)

If it were not for Planned Parenthood, I’m not sure where I would have gotten critical health care services that I needed. And now, the Trump-Pence administration is trying to take that access away.

The Trump-Pence Administration recently announced a proposed new rule on the Title X federal family planning program designed to make it impossible for patients like me to get birth control or preventive care from reproductive health care providers like Planned Parenthood.

With the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and the nomination of Brett