New York’s Bishops urge a “No” vote on Ballot Proposal 1
By Rick Hinshaw
This so-called “Equal Rights” amendment to the state Constitution will not advance equality. It will instead undermine parental rights; attack religious freedom; and enshrine unrestricted abortion, up to the moment of birth, in the New York State Constitution.
By prohibiting “discrimination” based on “gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy,” as well as “age,” this proposal could be used to:
- grant a constitutional right, even for underage minors, to have abortions or permanent surgeries altering their gender without parental knowledge or consent;
- require women and underage girls to compete against biological men and boys in scholastic sports, and share restroom, locker room and shower facilities with biological males;
- mandate that Catholic hospitals perform abortions and “gender transitioning” surgical mutilations, even on minors—or else close their doors, depriving millions of New Yorkers of the vital services provided by Catholic healthcare;
- require that faith-based charities either act in violation of their religious beliefs—for example, housing biological males in shelters for abused women—or be shut down, depriving vulnerable people of their charitable services;
- force pro-life pregnancy support centers to provide referrals for abortion, or close their doors, depriving mothers and babies of their life-affirming care;
The proposed “Equal Rights Amendment” is a collection of self-evident contradictions:
- Under the guise of prohibiting discrimination, it would discriminate against people and institutions of faith.
- Under the guise of protecting privacy, it would destroy women’s privacy in restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and homeless shelters.
- Under the guise of promoting equality, it would undermine women’s equality in sports.
- And of course, it denies equality for unborn children, whose mass destruction would be further advanced by its provisions.
The Bishops of New York State urge Catholics to
VOTE “NO” on Proposal 1
