A YES vote on Prop 1 will protect
the right to abortion and
prevent government
discrimination in New York.
What’s on the ballot in New York?
All New Yorkers deserve the freedom to control our own lives, futures, and healthcare decisions, including our right to abortion. And no New Yorker should be discriminated against or taken advantage of by those in power. Prop 1 is a constitutional amendment that puts the power in the hands of New Yorkers, not politicians.
Prop 1 will appear on the back of ballots across the state to protect New Yorkers’ rights and fundamental freedoms – including abortion.
GET THE FACTS:
Who Does the New York Constitution Protect?
Currently, the New York state constitution prohibits discrimination narrowly, based only on “race, color, creed, or religion.” This creates loopholes in the law that leave that leave many people vulnerable.
Prop 1 closes these loopholes and builds on these protections to ensure no New Yorker could be discriminated against by the government, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, pregnancy status, disability status, or whether someone is LGBT.
Isn’t Abortion Legal in New York?
While abortion is currently protected by state law, those laws are not ironclad and can be overturned. New York’s current laws can be changed or rolled back depending on who is in the state legislature or Governor’s Mansion.
Two years ago, a staunchly anti-abortion candidate came close to winning the Governor's Mansion for the first time in decades — and had pledged to put people who wanted to roll back abortion rights in charge of our health system.
Passing Prop 1 would ensure the right to abortion can't be rolled back in New York.
What Does Prop 1 Do?
Prop 1 will ensure our reproductive rights and fundamental freedoms – including abortion – are protected from government interference, keeping the power with New Yorkers and not politicians — permanently. It also protects New Yorkers from government discrimination – because no New Yorker should be taken advantage of by those in power.
Read the full text of the amendment here.
Why doesn’t my ballot say the word abortion?
Your ballot says “reproductive healthcare and autonomy” — under which abortion is covered explicitly.
“A yes vote protects the right to choose and will help ensure abortion is a constitutional right for all New Yorkers going forward; a no vote makes it easier for future anti-choice elected officials to rollback New York’s existing abortion rights.”
— Letitia James, New York Attorney General , September 4, 2024
FAQs
Does New York Need to Pass Prop 1?
Yes. Many of us took it for granted that our reproductive freedom would always be protected. When Roe v. Wade fell, we were shocked, and we realized our rights aren’t as safe as we thought. Since then, reproductive rights like abortion, birth control, and IVF have been under attack across the country.
That’s why we need to pass Prop 1: to make sure our reproductive rights, including abortion, are permanently protected here in New York, so we can never be caught off guard again. Prop 1 cements these rights so they cannot be rolled back by out-of-touch politicians in the future.
And Prop 1 doesn’t stop there: it also closes loopholes in the state constitution to make sure that no New Yorker can be discriminated against by the government, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, pregnancy status, disability status, or whether someone is LGBT.
Does Prop 1 protect access to birth control, IVF, and miscarriages?
Yes. Prop 1 will protect access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, birth control, and IVF, by making sure that politicians can’t pass abortion bans or restrict reproductive healthcare options.
Will this amendment let boys play on girls’ sports teams?
NO. Prop 1 does not change existing law. Let’s be clear – this is a narrative being pushed by politicians using a small handful of innocent kids as political pawns to divide New Yorkers and distract us from what this amendment is actually about: protecting the right to abortion and guaranteeing our personal freedoms. The amendment simply stops LGBT New Yorkers from being discriminated against.
Will Prop 1 allow non-citizens to vote?
NO. This is completely false. People saying otherwise are trying to divide and distract us from what this amendment is actually about: simply making sure all New Yorkers have their basic, fundamental rights and freedoms protected.
Will Prop 1 eliminate or harm girls’ sports teams?
No. Prop 1 does not change the existing laws around sports teams and works hand in hand with Title IX, which helped establish more gender parity in sports! Prop 1 simply prevents New Yorkers from being discriminated against by the government. Every New Yorker regardless of who they are and whom they love, deserves protection against harmful government interference.
Will there be unintended consequences of the amendment? Is it written vaguely?
NO. The amendment is straightforward: it closes loopholes in the state constitution to ensure that no New Yorker can be discriminated against by the government. It does not hand out special rights to anyone and doesn’t change common sense laws on the books. This amendment is about protecting the rights we currently have – including the right to abortion – and not leaving them up to out-of-touch politicians in the future.
Does Prop 1 take rights away from parents and guardians, enabling minors to get access to gender affirming care without parental consent?
NO. Proposal 1 does not change the law, which already requires parental consent for minors to receive any medical procedure related to gender-affirming care. The passage of Prop 1 does not expand current legislation, but allows families rather than politicians to make healthcare decisions.
Will Prop 1 change our immigration process/exacerbate a migration issue?
NO. The protections in this amendment have nothing to do with our country’s asylum or immigration laws. They are simply about closing loopholes in the state constitution to make sure that all New Yorkers are protected against discrimination from the government, no matter their race or ethnicity. In fact, several other states have protections for national origin in their state constitutions — including conservative states like Texas, Florida, and Louisiana.
