On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, New York state passed a new law. Its intent is to protect women’s access to abortion if the new conservative majority Supreme Court overturns this landmark decision.
“With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo after signing New York’s Reproductive Health Act (RHA).
The act allows for medical professionals who are not doctors to perform the procedure and also takes abortion out of the criminal code, making it a public health issue. Before this new law, doctors could be held criminally liable for performing such a procedure.
More controversially, it addresses late-term abortions. Now they may be performed after 24 weeks if the fetus will not survive or if it is necessary to protect the mother’s life. Usually, at 24 weeks, a fetus is considered viable and has a chance of survival if born prematurely.
Statistically, only about 1% of abortions are performed at 21 weeks or later. And, most of the time, they are only done under these circumstances of nonviability or threats to the mother’s life.
Critics claim that the law is reaching much too far. Abortion, in their opinion, should be outlawed entirely. A law that allows such procedures in the third trimester, even in these explicitly stated narrow circumstances, is irrational. They also argue that removing abortion from the criminal code would mean that a fetal death as a result of an assault on the mother would not be prosecuted.
Advocates are praising New York for taking such drastic steps. Supporters claim the law cements a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and protects her from discrimination. They also applaud the expansion of access to early care by allowing other medical professionals to perform the procedure.
Clearly, there is a lot of debate surrounding the law. The main take away from the controversy is that nothing is black and white. Abortion will always remain a polarizing issue with a consensus seemingly never reached. The Reproductive Health Act is a major victory for those on the pro-choice side of the debate, however a devastating loss for those on the other. If other states begin to follow New York and pass such sweeping laws in support of either side, the country will surely become even more divided than it already is.