Two years ago, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case, ending a 50-year abortion constitutional right and allowing states to establish their own abortion laws. On June 24th, both the Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York City reiterated the abortion rights of the state and the city.
Mayor Adams stated that in response to this commemorative day, New York City once again reaffirms the expansion of abortion services. Since the overturn of the abortion constitutional right by the Supreme Court, New York City has enacted six laws, including providing free abortion pills to local sexual health clinics, establishing remote abortion counseling services, and ensuring that everyone in need has access to safe and legal abortion services.
Governor Hochul, in her statement, expressed that in today’s America, “one-third of women live under abortion bans.” Therefore, she leads the state of New York to “ensure that these deprived freedoms belong not only to New Yorkers but also help sisters across the country to regain these rights.”
The debate over whether abortion should be prohibited or allowed has been ongoing. Those who hold conservative religious beliefs see embryos as life, abortion as murder, and question how can killing be not prohibited? Therefore, the slogan of anti-abortion advocates is “protecting life.” On the other hand, liberal advocates of scientific freedom believe that embryos are just a collection of proteins, “my body, my choice,” and question how others can restrict their bodily autonomy? Hence, their slogan is “abortion is a human right.”
The Supreme Court’s decision on the Roe v. Wade case in 1973 affirmed the constitutional right to abortion, with abortion being protected under the right to privacy in the Constitution, allowing women to have abortions in the first two months of pregnancy. Following the Supreme Court’s decision two years ago, nearly half of the states have imposed restrictions on abortion, while others maintain more lenient provisions for terminating pregnancies.
New York is one of the most vehemently opposed states. Recently, an appellate court decision determined that the issue of protecting abortion rights will be placed on the ballot for a public vote in November. State Attorney General Letitia James stated, “This is a significant victory for the state in its efforts to protect abortion rights and vulnerable groups from discrimination.”