Reasons to vote yes on Prop 1

As the State Senate sponsor of Proposition 1, the Equal Rights Amendment, I’m disappointed to see Newsday’s editorial board side with anti-abortion activists [“Vote ‘no’ on Proposition One,” Endorsement, Oct. 25]. Perhaps the most damaging of those arguments is that New Yorkers’ abortion rights are safe.

For years, I carried a bill to codify Roe v. Wade into state law and was told it was not necessary, Roe was the law of the land, and our abortion rights were not at risk. Sound familiar? Fortunately, that bill passed in 2019, just in the nick of time.

Six years ago, there was an anti-abortion majority in the State Senate. Two years ago, an anti-abortion candidate was almost elected governor. That’s why we need Prop 1.

Why doesn’t it just say “abortion”? Because it also protects fertility treatments, contraception, and all the basic reproductive health care that New Yorkers need, including as-yet-unimagined future healthcare options. It protects women from being arrested for having a miscarriage or stillbirth, and it even protects people who choose not to have an abortion.

If one rejects the politics of fear and division and supports abortion rights and the equal rights of all New Yorkers, Prop 1 deserves a “yes” vote.

— Sen. Liz Krueger, Manhattan

The writer represents New York’s 28th Senate district, primarily based in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

In today’s extremely divisive political environment, it’s hard to imagine bipartisan support for meaningful policy. Proposition 1, however, is an opportunity for members of all political ideologies to come together to reject discrimination and protect abortion rights.

Prop 1 does not change existing law, but it will establish constitutional protections against discrimination from the government based on gender, age, disability status, ethnicity, pregnancy status or whether someone is LGBTQ+ and unequivocally enshrines protections for New Yorkers.

It is hard to imagine anyone opposing fair treatment and equal rights for all New Yorkers, but sadly Newsday’s editorial board has done just that.

Readers who want to uphold individual freedoms, protect New Yorkers against discrimination and protect abortion rights should vote “yes” on Prop 1.

— Melanie D’Arrigo, Port Washington

The writer is the legislative vice president for the state National Organization of Women.

My better teachers always told me that if you can’t explain something simple simply, don’t try to explain it at all. After reading the editorial board’s Prop 1 endorsement, I come away with no clear idea of why the board thinks readers should vote “no” on this proposition. Is it the sentence “Our opposition to the amendment is opposition to the process that produced it”?

Consequently, I’m left with the sense that the board is opposed to approving this amendment because it doesn’t think the State Legislature’s elected representatives have exercised enough control over the final language of the amendment. I do not share the same concern about that although the board is to be commended for at least quoting the text of the amendment.

On the contrary, given the dysfunctional conflicts manifest in the State Legislature over the years, and if my sense of the board’s objection is even close to the mark, the fact that the Legislature may not have had much to say about the final form of this amendment argues for its passage.

— Stewart Ronk, Garden City

I am looking forward to voting “yes” on Proposition 1. This amendment would expand who is protected against discrimination in the New York State Constitution to include ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive health care and autonomy.

This amendment is desperately needed, as we have seen legislation across the country targeting these freedoms.

But we don’t have to look across the country to see discrimination wielded against vulnerable populations. One needs to look no further than Nassau County to see why this amendment is crucial.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the Republican-controlled county Legislature have gone out of their way to target transgender youth under the false premise of “protecting girls sports.”

We need this amendment to our constitution to push back against discrimination, bigotry, and encroaching on our freedoms as New Yorkers. These freedoms should be enshrined in our state, so no matter who is in office, we are free to live in New York as who we are.

— Shoshana Hershkowitz, South Setauket