A note from Barb Thomas, LWV Saratoga County, member LWVNY, 1st Vice President LWVNY, Pay Equity Co-Specialist
As you know by now, The Assembly passed the entire 10-point Women’s Equality Act on Thursday, June 20. Then, on Friday (June 21) Senator Jeff Klein introduced a hostile amendment (the language of the WEA, codifying Roe v. Wade into law) to a bill about medical records.
After a debate about abortion, all Republican Senators and two Democrats voted that the amendment was not germane to the bill. This procedural vote, by a show of hands, will serve as a record of where the Senators stand on reproductive choice. After that maneuver, the remaining nine points of the Women’s Equality Act were each introduced as separate bills, spoken to, and passed (all but one unanimously). The Assembly refused to consider the separate bills, before adjourning on Friday evening.
Which leaves us with no law, because there is no “same as” bill in either house. The Assembly could come back some time during this legislative session and pass the same nine points that the Senate did, and I hope that they will. It appears that the only way to pass the reproductive choice section is to elect more pro-choice Senators.
