New Yorkers pass Equal Rights Amendment Prop 1 to defend abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state
Voters in the state of New York voted to uphold abortion and LGBTQ+ rights with Prop 1. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
New Yorkers passed an Equal Rights Amendment, Prop 1, to defend abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state.
Despite President-Elect Donald Trump winning the 2024 US Election, New Yorkers voted for Proposition 1 on the other side of their ballot to ensure that abortion rights and other civil rights are enshrined in the state’s constitution.
Voters in the state approved The Equal Protection of Law Amendment to protect abortion statewide and ban discrimination based on characteristics, including sexuality and gender identity, disability, ethnicity, and age.
This includes “national origin” and “sex”, which is defined as “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy” as well as “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression”.
Speaking about the proposition, the New York Civil Liberties Union said via a statement: “New Yorkers used their vote to permanently protect abortion statewide, and showed up for LGBTQ, immigrant, and disabled New Yorkers by approving the most progressive and comprehensive state Equal Rights Amendment in the country.
BREAKING: New York has passed #Prop1!
— NYCLU (@NYCLU) November 6, 2024
New Yorkers used their vote to permanently protect abortion statewide, and showed up for LGBTQ, immigrant, and disabled New Yorkers by approving the most progressive and comprehensive state Equal Rights Amendment in the country.
“With this vote, New York enshrines the right to abortion in the New York State Constitution and expands anti-discrimination protections to those who have been excluded for far too long.”
The statement continued: “This vote is a rejection of a regressive national movement to roll back our hard-won freedoms that has gained in other states.
“No matter what happens in the rest of the country, New York is moving forward. In New York, equality and inclusion are now the law of the land,” the statement concluded.
Voters in 10 states across the US cast ballots on abortion rights in their state constitutions at the election this year. Ballot measures that were passed will lift abortion bans in two states, Missouri and Arizona, while existing protections to access an abortion will be increased in at least four other states.
In Arizona, women and those with a uterus will have the right to an abortion in the state before the point of foetal viability, while in Missouri, the amendment establishes the right to reproductive freedom following a total abortion ban.
This is defined as “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive healthcare”, including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, respectful birthing conditions, birth control, abortion, and miscarriage care.
However, proposed rights for abortion access in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota were not passed.
For abortion support in the US, visit Planned Parenthood here.
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