ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� New York鈥檚 legislature took a critical step Tuesday toward changing the state's constitution to bar discrimination based on 鈥減regnancy outcomes鈥� or 鈥済ender expression鈥� 鈥� provisions intended to protect abortion rights and a person鈥檚 right to seek gender-affirming care.
In a pair of afternoon votes, the state鈥檚 Senate and Assembly approved an expansion of the constitution鈥檚 Equal Protection Amendment, clearing the way for it to go before voters in a statewide ratification referendum in 2024.
While the amendment wouldn't explicitly preserve a woman鈥檚 right to have an abortion, supporters say it would have the practical effect of protecting reproductive rights.
鈥淭his is our mandate to continue strengthening New York鈥檚 status as a destination state where reproductive freedoms are protected and the right to choose is guaranteed,鈥� Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at a news conference before the vote.
The Legislature gave initial approval to the amendment in a special session last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was the first step in the state鈥檚 amendment process, where lawmakers have to pass a resolution twice in order to send it to voters. Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn't need to sign the amendment for it to become law but has advocated for its passage.
The New York Constitution currently bans discrimination based on 鈥渞ace, color, creed or religion.鈥� The amendment would expand that list to include ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and 鈥渞eproductive healthcare and autonomy.鈥�
Assembly member David DiPietro, a Republican from western New York, said during floor debate that the measure was unfair to many people of faith.
鈥淭he passage of the equality amendment would result in the further erosion of religious liberty for New Yorkers whose faith, traditions teach that abortion, homosexuality and/or transgenderism are immoral and could subject many faith-based charities and schools to catastrophic liability,鈥� DiPietro said.
Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, three years before it was decriminalized for the entire nation. The law, which still stands with little chance of it changing anytime soon, allows abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
The state also legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, four years before the U.S. Supreme Court declared that people had that right nationwide.
Democrats, though, said they felt compelled to make constitutional changes to ensure that certain rights were protected in the future.
鈥淏ecause guess what? We鈥檝e learned recently, the courts can change and suddenly protections you thought you had because of court cases aren鈥檛 there anymore,鈥� said State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat.
New York voters will have the final say on whether the amendment is ratified, likely on the same ballot where they will be choosing the next U.S. president.
鈥淩est assured, the Assembly majority will never stop fighting to ensure that our state鈥檚 reproductive protections are ironclad,鈥� Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said at a morning rally at the state Capitol.
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Associated Press writer Michael Hill in Albany, New York contributed to this report.
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Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on .
Maysoon Khan, The Associated Press
