The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the New York State Constitution that would prohibit government discrimination based on age, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and sex- including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. It would also prohibit government actions that make it harder for a person to access abortion or gender affirming care in our state.
A lot of people think that we’re safe in New York because we have laws that protect those rights, but laws can be easily repealed. Without this change to the constitution, our rights are only safe so long as the political tides are in our favor. The ERA is so important because it will make it so the freedoms we currently enjoy as New Yorkers – the right to access abortion, the right not to be criminalized for miscarriage, the right to provide medical care as a professional regardless of your patient’s state of origin, and more – are not left up to the whims of state politicians, but to New Yorkers.
On July 5th of this year, the New York State Board of Elections met and gave a name to the Equal Rights Amendment: Prop One. Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York is joined together with more than 200 other reproductive and civil rights organizations across the state to make sure that as many voters as possible show up on election day in November understanding Prop One and it’s importance to preserving our liberties in New York. To join Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York in our work for Prop One and for all reproductive freedom activism, reach out to [email protected]. To learn more about Prop One and the organizations supporting it, visit the New Yorkers for Equal Rights website.
