NY State Senate ChamberLawmakers in New York were once again blocked from passing a radical new abortion law that would have greatly expanded abortion in the state and allowed abortions to be performed by any "qualified, licensed healthcare practitioner."
LifeSiteNews is reporting that the Reproductive Health Act (S.438) was narrowly defeated in the Senate Health Committee by a vote of 9-8, effectively killing the bill before it could reach the Senate floor for a vote.
The new law, which is disingenuously described by secular media sources as a bill intended to "update New York abortion law to match federal law" would actually allow abortion up to the moment of birth, allow nurses and midwives to perform abortions, and would have forced all hospitals to refer patients for abortion or lose state funding.
This is the second time around for the controversial law which is strongly back by Governor Andrew Cuomo. He included it in his 10-point Women's Equality Agenda last year alongside common sense measures such as ensuring equal pay to women, protection from sexual harassment on the job and domestic violence at home. Intended to be passed as a whole, pro-life lawmakers were able to split the bill into separate measures, all of which passed except the abortion clause.
NY "Catholic" Governor Andrew CuomoThe governor later scolded pro-life people, saying that those who support the right to life "have no place in the State of New York", a comment he was later forced to retract. He claimed to mean only people with extremist views.
But, as Senator Greg Ball said during the most recent hearing on the resurrected bill: “The only extremists in this room are the legislators who support this legislation.”
Kelly Cummings, Republican Senate spokeswoman agreed: “By continuing to push for an extreme and dangerous proposal that would allow non-doctors to perform abortions right up to the day of a baby's birth, the Senate Democrats have once again put party politics over the health and safety of New York’s women,” Cummings said. “We won't let reckless Senate Democrats jeopardize the health and safety of women, nor will we let them endanger their basic reproductive health just to make a political statement.”
Prolife groups in the state, which is known as the abortion capital of the U.S., are celebrating today.
“We are so thankful to the Senators who are committed to standing for women and their children,” said Lori Kehoe, executive director of New York State Right to Life to LifeNews. “It is ridiculous that in 2014 we have to fight those who would legalize the dismemberment of unborn children for any reason throughout the third trimester.”
However, the battle is far from over as everyone expects the bill to be raised again sometime in the future.
As LifeNews' Steve Ertelt writes: "Governor Cuomo and his allies have pushed this legislation once before and they will push it again, making this pro-life victory today but a victorious skirmish in a much longer battle."
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