Hillary Clinton was alongside the governor when he delivered a pro-abortion speech earlier this week.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has refused to sign the state’s 2019-20 budget until lawmakers approve a bill that would make it legal to have an abortion for any reason up until birth, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.
On Monday, Cuomo delivered a pro-abortion speech at Barnard College in Manhattan, where he vowed not to support the budget until the Legislature passes the Reproductive Health Act and the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act. Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and presidential candidate, stood alongside the governor at the event.
The 61-year-old Democrat also vowed during his speech to push an amendment to enshrine abortion in the state constitution. Cuomo first called for the constitutional amendment last year.
What does the Reproductive Health Act say?
Currently, only licensed physicians are allowed to perform an abortion, and only up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“Every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child or have an abortion,” the Reproductive Health Act reads.
If approved, any licensed health care provider acting in “good faith” would be able to perform an abortion at any time up until birth.
Abortion would also be removed as a crime from the state’s penal code.
The bill has passed the Democrat-controlled assembly in the past, according to the Rochester Democrat. However, it stalled in the Republican-led Senate for more than a decade.
Democrats gained Senate majority after the 2018 midterm elections.
“This is only the beginning of the protections that we will have for our women, for our environment, criminal-justice reform, education — the list goes on,” state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Monday, according to the report. “But in January, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we will make our statement, we will make our mark.”