Judge rules ballot initiative to enshrine abortion into NY Constitution 'null and void'
The effort to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in New York that would establish a right to abortion has been put on hold following a judge's ruling.
In an opinion issued Tuesday, Judge Daniel Doyle of the Supreme Court of New York ruled that a proposal asking voters to approve an Equal Rights Amendment to the New York Constitution cannot appear on the ballot in November. He found that supporters of the initiative failed to follow proper procedures as required by law.
Doyle is based in Livingston County, which is located in upstate New York, a more conservative part of the state.
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Doyle pointed to Article XIX of the New York Constitution, which states that constitutional amendments proposed by the state Senate or Assembly "shall be referred to the attorney-general whose duty it shall be within twenty days thereafter to render an opinion in writing to the senate and assembly as to the effect of such amendment or amendments upon other provisions of the constitution."
The New York Constitution also declares that "Upon receiving such opinion," the proposed constitutional amendment must "be agreed to by a majority of members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendments shall be entered on their journals, and the ayes and noes taken thereon, and referred to the next regular legislative session convening after the succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and shall be published for three months previous to the time of making such choice."
"If in such legislative session, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the legislature to submit each proposed amendment or amendments to the people for approval," the constitution adds.
The ruling noted that rather than waiting for the attorney general to issue an opinion, the legislature voted to adopt the proposed constitutional amendment on the same day it was introduced in July 2022. The attorney general did not submit an opinion until later that month after both chambers of the legislature had already approved it.
"The voters have no right to vote on an amendment placed on the ballot in violation of the procedures required by the Constitution," Doyle wrote. "The concurrent resolution is declared null and void, and the proposed amendment shall be removed from the ballot for the general election of November 5, 2024."
Doyle didn't elaborate on the content of the proposed constitutional amendment he was invalidating in his decision, which would amend the New York Constitution to read, "No person shall because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in their civil rights."
The New York Constitution limits equal protection of the law to race, color, creed and religion. The proposed amendment seeks to expand the list of protected characteristics under state law.
In July 2022, the Democrat-controlled New York Senate approved the proposal in a 49-14 vote, while the Democrat-controlled New York Assembly passed it in a 95-45 vote. All but one Senate Democrat joined six Senate Republicans to support the measure, while one Democrat joined all other Republicans in opposing it. In the Assembly vote, all but two Democrats supported it, while all Republicans opposed it. State law requires that a proposed constitutional amendment be approved by two consecutive legislatures.
In January 2023, the proposal was approved by the Democrat-controlled New York Senate in a 43-20 vote, with all but two Republicans voting against it and all but one Democrat expressing support for it. Meanwhile, the state's Democrat-controlled Assembly passed it in a 97-46 vote, with three Democrats joining all Republicans in opposing it.
In a statement on X Tuesday, New York's Democrat Attorney General Letitia James asserted, "The decision to strike the ERA from the ballot is disappointing."
"We're appealing to defend New Yorkers' rights." James, a Democrat, declared that "the Equal Rights Amendment was advanced to protect people's fundamental rights like reproductive freedom and access to abortion care."
As James alluded to in her remarks, the Equal Rights Amendment is viewed as a way to enshrine a right to abortion in the New York Constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment is one of several proposals across the United States designed to establish a right to abortion at the state level that may appear before voters in the 2024 election.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
