The Democrat-controlled New York State Senate passed an “historic” abortion bill Tuesday that legalizes the killing of unborn babies until birth, expands who is allowed to provide abortions, and scrubs abortion from the state’s criminal code.
Upon the passage of the euphemistically titled “Reproductive Health Act,” Planned Parenthood New York City took to social media to celebrate by posting a video showing abortion activists erupting in applause and cheers in the New York Senate chamber.
“New York State Senate just made HISTORY and passed the Reproductive Health Act on the anniversary of #RoevWade,” PP NYC tweeted Tuesday.
The Reproductive Health Act, which declares that “every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion,” effectively wipes out the 24 week limit on abortion by specifying that a woman has the right to abort her child up to the child’s birth date, so long as an authorized health care practitioner determines in “reasonable and good faith professional judgment” that the birth of the child could potentially hurt the mother’s “life or health.”
“A health care practitioner licensed, certified, or authorized under title eight of the education law, acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, may perform an abortion when, according to the practitioner’s reasonable and good faith professional judgment based on the facts of the patient’s case: the patient is within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health,” the legislation states.
Planned Parenthood NYC’s post prompted swift backlash, including from some who said they had once been pro-abortion, but the movement had now taken the issue too far for them to continue to support it. While some defended the bill for allowing the abortion after 24 weeks only “to protect the patient’s life or health,” others noted that the bill deliberately allows such a broad definition of “health” — “all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age” — that it effectively translates to “abortion on demand.”
A few examples of reactions to Planned Parenthood NYC’s post:
Along with the expansion of the right to kill unborn children until birth “to protect the patient’s life or health,” the bill erases any reference to abortion in the definition of homicide, and “places it entirely within the realm of public health law.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also found a way to celebrate the passage of the “till birth” abortion bill, lighting the One World Trade Center pink on Tuesday:
“The Reproductive Health Act is a historic victory for New Yorkers and for our progressive values,” said the Democratic governor. “In the face of a federal government intent on rolling back Roe v. Wade and women’s reproductive rights, I promised that we would enact this critical legislation within the first 30 days of the new session — and we got it done. I am directing that New York’s landmarks be lit in pink to celebrate this achievement and shine a bright light forward for the rest of the nation to follow.”
Related: WALSH: It’s Time To Finally Legalize Post-Birth Abortion