NY Equality Amendment Second Passage | 2023 NYS Legislative Agenda
The New York Equality Amendment would amend the State Constitution to declare that equal rights may not be denied on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability and sex, including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The City Bar supports the Equality Amendment because it would significantly advance equality for all New Yorkers by protecting the diverse subgroups that make up the people of New York State. In particular, we support and applaud the inclusion of “pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes” among the Amendment’s protected classes. Existing statutory protection for this class in New York State is not enough, and there is an urgent need for robust, enduring New York constitutional protections for pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes given the current air of hostility towards such protections on the federal level and in other states. Adopting the amendment would meaningfully protect pregnant people from their longstanding vulnerability to discrimination and outside control of their bodies; and prevent New York State from intervening in health care decisions of pregnant people in ways that would interfere with medical decision-making.
